Chapter Ten: Clash of Armies
Shirataka, Bonple 9:21 A.M. August 16th
The small plain had become the scene of a battlefield: trenches lined the field and hundreds of craters and potholes dotted the landscape. Tanks and cars drove around, supporting the infantry that were crawling out in the open.
For the Kuromorimine troops, the stubborn Bonple defense was a complete surprise. They thought they would crumble like all other opposition, but here they were on the verge of pushing Kuromorimine back for the time being.
The unteroffizier(sergeant) hit the dirt as half a dozen rifles opened up on her. She cursed as she fired her MP38-her submachine gun was almost useless in a long-range situation. A grenadier fell to the ground as a bullet hit her in the heart. The unteroffizier grunted as she crawled forward, pieces of dirt falling through her uniform and down her shirt. Sweat trickled down her face as she saw the figures a few hundred meters away taking potshots at her. She fired a burst of her smg in anger, only for the enemy to hop back down in their trenches.
The bodies around her piled up into a mountain. What the hell? She thought in disbelief. Why is this happening now? I thought we were close to beating them! Mortar shells plunged down into the dirt around her. She turned and saw a couple of Bonple soldiers run across a treeline. Standing up, she aimed and fired in their direction. After a short burst, satisfaction filled her as one soldier toppled over.
She dashed across the open ground, trying to avoid becoming a target for the enemy. She felt the air rush past as bullets raced her way.
She found a small ditch, where several riflewomen were taking cover. She dove in, rolling into the ditch. She knelt down in cover as the girls fired their Kar 98Ks.
"Damn, their firepower is too strong!" One girl exclaimed. She shoved a new magazine into her rifle and peered through the sights. Her head was thrown back as a bullet entered her temple, and she fell over.
"We can't hold them back!" Another wailed cowering in the ditch. The unteroffizier grabbed her. "Get a hold of yourself!" She said. She unbuckled a grenade and tossed it. It landed in the middle of the field, and exploded harmlessly. "Damn it." The unteroffizier muttered underneath her breath. She peeked over and watched the Bonple troops slowly advancing across the entire field.
The Panzer III led the platoon of armored vehicles across the plains, where dozens of vehicles from both sides spouted black smoke. The Panzer III commander watched from above the hatch the Bonple tanks and infantry advancing. "Spread out, don't let them break through here!" She ordered, and the Panzers fanned out to combat the threat. The Panzer Is began firing their MG34s, cutting down the Bonple infantry. The Panzer III commander spotted an FT-17 tank in her sights. "FT-17, two o'clock!" She shouted. The turret of the Panzer III creaked as it turned to face the light tank. "We got her in our sights, when can we fire?" The gunner asked. The commander grunted. "Fire when ready." She said.
The Panzer III rocked back, firing its KwK 36 L46/5 cannon. The FT-17 in front of it exploded, throwing chunks of steel into the air. "Woohoo, a direct hit!" The gunner shouted. "Good job." The radio operator of the Panzer III congratulated her. The gunner grinned. "My first kill! I can't believe it!" She exclaimed. "Looks like you're going to get another kill." The gunner remarked. "One 7TP, two TKS tankettes 10 o'clock!" The commander barked.
"We're outnumbered, should we fall back?" The driver asked. The commander shook her head. "No. There may be more than us but our gun is more than capable of taking them on." She replied quickly. The gunner licked her lips. "Okay. Here we go." She remarked. She aimed her gun at the first TKS, and fired. The TKS flipped over, and from its compartment smoke began spilling out. "Driver, make sure we don't get hit from the flank!" The gunner shouted. The driver nodded and began shifting gears and pulling levers, forcing the treads of the Panzer III to grind forward. The gun fired again, tearing a hole in the second TKS. The 7TP fired, but the shell hit the dirt in front of the Panzer III. The commander didn't move as the cloud of dust covered her vision. She sat back into her commander's seat and closed the hatch. "Let's clean this up." She said. The gunner chuckled as she targeted the final 7TP. She fired, and the shell sailed for the Bonple tank. The shell skimmed the side armor, and exploded behind it. The gunner mumbled incoherently as she corrected her aim.
The 7TP fired, and the Panzer III lurched forward as the shell hit the corner of the Panzer III. "Holy shit!" The gunner screamed. The commander scowled. "Driver, take us to the rear!" She hollered. The driver complied, throwing the Panzer forward. The Panzer III circled the 7TP, the gun pointing directly at the 7TP engine. "Fire!" The commander ordered, and the gunner fired the gun. After the loud roar of the gun, they heard the clanging of metal. "I-I think I got her." The gunner stumbled. The driver peered through her vision slit. "Yeah, you got her good. That thing is a goner." She told her. The gunner sighed with relief. "Thank god." The commander smiled. "Good job, girls." She said.
The unteroffizier led the attack against the ridge, dozens of girls behind her with rifles in hands ran across the open field, being picked off by Bonple snipers and machine guns. She knelt down and squeezed the trigger, firing up the hill. A Bonple girl's head jerked up, drops of blood spraying into the air. The sound of air being cut by bullets prompted her to dash to the foot of the hill. Several more girls wearing the standard Stahlhelms and field hats fired their rifles at the soldiers above, killing the defenders. They were about to stand up when an explosion rocked the top of the hill. A large brown mushroom cloud floated above them as the ground rocked. The unteroffizier ducked her head and watched the dust cloud dissipate. She crawled up the ridge and reached the top. She saw the field gun aim for her and jumped back as the barrel recoiled. She felt the explosion push her farther into the air, and she crashed back down on the hard grass. She rolled back onto her feet, and felt the tremble of the earth as a Panzer III rolled up the hill. It stopped at the crest, and fired at the field gun. The field gun was engulfed the cloud of dirt and when the air became clear again all remained was a small crater and an empty field gun.
The unteroffizier and the riflewomen crept up the hill to see the battle in its entirety. She could see tens of thousands of little specks moving around in the vast field, soldiers from both sides fighting each other. Tanks represented by tiny blocks shot little puffs of smoke, and pillars of black smoke wafted up into the sky. White trails in the sky indicated a fierce dogfight in the heavens, with the occasional aircraft being shot down and the pilot ejecting from her destroyed plane.
The unteroffizier stared down in wonder. This battle is way bigger than I thought, She thought in amazement. She reloaded her MP38 and prepared for the platoon of Bonple infantry to counterattack from below. A girl set up an MG34 and began to pour down fire on the enemy platoon. She flicked her head up and saw the unmistakable shape of a grenade sailing above them.
"Take cover!" She screamed as she dove down, hands above her head. The next a loud boom drowned out her ears and felt chunks of earth land on her. She looked around her and saw several dead girls sprawled across the hill, staring unblinkingly. She stood back up and was face-to-face with a Bonple girl with a rifle. She lowered her rifle towards the unteroffizier's face but she was too late. The unteroffizier raised her MP38 and pulled the trigger, and bullet holes snaked up the girl's body. The unteroffizier smashed the butt of her smg into the girl's face, and she fell down like a puppet who lost its owner. The unteroffizier stepped forward and continued to fire her gun, taking down several more enemy soldiers. A girl next to her shot her K98, pulling her bolt back. In that instant she was thrown back by the bullet that hit her right in the chest. Blood splattered against the unteroffizier's uniform but she ignored it. The sounds of a Ckm wz. 30 machine gun tearing through bodies made her cringe and stay down low. We're pinned! She groaned inside her own head. She poked her MP38 out and fired wildly down at the machine gun below, but a flurry of bullets forced her to retract her gun.
Then suddenly the entire hill was thrown up into the air. An artillery strike had honed in on the hill and disintegrated the entire position. After the huge mass of brown dust settled back into the ground, an empty crater was in the place of the hill.
Just a few hundred meters away, Koume and Kitayama sat anxiously as they heard the reports of the battle. "We're pretty outnumbered." Kitayama said. Koume sighed. "Yeah. They've managed to get over 60,000 troops, while we only have two divisions so far." She replied. "And our reinforcements are being bogged up by the damned enemy's flanking maneuvers. We can't even get air supremacy." She grumbled. "And our Panzers are being stopped by armor and anti-armor resistance." Kitayama added. "Our big advantage is our drawback this time."
"They also have semi-automatic rifles to combat our rifles and submachine guns. And we're getting pushed out of the small villages around the area." Koume exclaimed angrily. "We're at an disadvantage here!" She shouted. She put her face into her hands. "We're so close...why does this have to happen so close to the end?" She sniffled. "It's not fair."
"Don't worry. We will somehow manage." Eric entered, holding several reports. "The 12th and 31st regiments have been pushed back by a Bonple counterattack. The 50th suffered heavy casualties but pushed back what seemed to be a regiment-sized attack." He informed Koume, who looked up from her hands. "We can't lose here!" She moaned. "We've almost won!"
"And we will." Eric said confidently. "We will beat them so hard they will capitulate after this battle." He smiled. Koume also put up a smile and stood up. "You're right." She stated. She jumped forward and hugged Eric tightly. Kitayama watched the two embrace with a grin on her face.
Two Bonple officers marched through the town, past the thousands of soldiers filing towards the battlefield. They walked into the village's government building, now being used as the Armia Yonezawa's HQ. They saluted as they entered through the doorway. "What is it?" A voice boomed from the end of the room. The two officers moved forward up to the desk, where a woman with chestnut hair in a dark brown uniform sat. "General Ruchanki, our forces are slowly pushing the enemy forces back." One officer reported. Ruchanki smiled. "Good. We have them right where we want them. This is no doubt their main force. This battle will decide the very outcome of this war, so we must not falter for even a second." She said with an air of confidence around her. "We must cut them off and surround them. Don't let their reinforcements arrive." She ordered. The officers nodded and left. Ruchanki leaned back in her seat. "I'll lose my head if I lose this one….Better make sure I don't screw this up." She muttered to herself.
The half a dozen Sdkfz. 251s rolled across the field, holding several dozen panzergrenadiers. One girl, just a obergrenadier(Private First Class) quivered in her seat, clutching her rifle. Her stahlhelm glistened against the harsh sunlight. Her glasses was foggy, and she had to take them off to wipe them. The faint sounds of gunfire and explosions came creeping closer as the halftracks continued to advance. She began hyperventilating, putting her back against the wall.
"Hey, don't be so scared." A soldier next to her said, putting her arm around her. "This is your first time, right?" She asked. The obergrenadier nodded. The soldier grinned. "Don't worry. It might be scary at first but you'll get used to it. It's not as bad as you think it is." She told the obergrenadier, who stopped shaking.
She yelped when the MG34 of the halftrack started to light up, firing away at an unseen enemy. "We're close to the battle now." The soldier next to her remarked. The other halftracks also stopped and their machine guns spat out tracers across the clear plains. The doors of the halftrack opened, and the steel-helmeted girls jumped out from the rear. "Come on!" The soldier urged the obergrenadier forward. Grasping her K98, she stumbled out of the halftrack and gazed at the battlefield. "Don't stop, keep moving!" The soldier shouted, and the obergrenadier dashed into the open.
She was immediately under fire; bullets zipped by her face, causing her to crouch down as she ran alongside her comrades. She raised her rifle up to her face and searched for an enemy, but found none as she scanned the horizon.
There was a loud Krafoom behind her as the halftrack she was on moments before exploded. She turned around and saw the flaming wreck behind her. It took moments for her to figure out what was going on, with the whistling of shells and roaring of explosions. "Artillery bombardment!" The soldier next to her screamed as she dove to the ground. The obergrenadier's vision was instantly engulfed by brown dirt and grass and she closed her eyelids to stop the dust from going into her eyes.
The bombardment seemed to last for an eternity. The obergrenadier kept her eyes glued shut as the storm raged around her. At last everything went quiet, and she slowly opened her eyes. All the halftracks were in ruins, with the wheels lying uselessly on the ground. Several girls were also on the grass, their legs ripped out from their torsos and intestines hanging out from their open guts. They moaned in excruciating pain as they thrashed around in their own blood. Medics were running around, trying to save their wounded comrades. The stench was overwhelming for the obergrenadier, who bent down and vomited. A soldier patted her on the back, comforting her. "It looks like we'll have to go on foot from now on." She said bitterly.
Anzio High School, 10:30 A.M.
Anchovy marched down the hallway flanked by two soldiers. She walked down to the white doors at the end of the hall. She stopped and let the soldiers open the doors for her. Saluting them, she walked into the room.
Sitting in the chair was Erika, quietly reading a book. She looked up when Anchovy made her entrance. "Took you long enough." She said, closing the book shut as she stood up. "I have things to do. I can't help it if my schedule gets messy." Anchovy replied as she shook Erika's hand. Erika smiled. "It's fine. I'm a patient person." She sat back down, and Anchovy took her seat from across her.
"So, what do you want from me today?" Anchovy asked as she leaned back in her cushiony chair. "I'm sure you're busy conducting your war in Bonple and Gregor."
"The commander and I want to make sure you have your priorities straight." Erika answered bluntly, and Anchovy bit her lip. "What does that mean?" She growled. Erika raised your eyebrows. "Whoa, no need to be so defensive. We just want to make sure you're going to keep your commitment to the Iron Front." She hastily backtracked. Anchovy groaned. "Of course I am. Don't worry, we're just mobilizing our armies as we speak. We can't go headlong into war without being prepared, can we?" She said. "We've set up defensive perimeters across the border with Kebab."
"Good. That's all we needed to hear." Erika sighed in relief. "Our war against Jajka and Boleslava is going extremely well right now. Our southern frontier is well defended, and the Maternal Alliance isn't going to breakthrough there."
"You're winning against everybody!" Anchovy laughed. "I want to have some military victories myself."
"Then you better hurry up before we beat everybody." Erika teased. Anchovy grinned. "We'll conquer everything south of us." She boasted. "Nobody will be able to stop us."
A girl came in with two cups of coffee. Anchovy and Erika gladly took them and continued their conversation.
Viking Fisheries High School, 11:19 A.M.
Oslofjord was quite shocked to get a call from Loki. She hesitantly answered the phone and put it up to her ear.
"Hello, Oslofjord. Thank you for picking up, we have something very important to discuss." Loki's tone was awfully cold and formal. "What is it?" Oslofjord tentatively answered. "I think you know what it is." Loki's icy voice made Oslofjord tremble. "I'm sorry, but I don't think I understand you." She replied. She heard a small smirk from the other side. "That's not what Ester told us." Oslofjord froze when loki said that. "Wh-what?" She stuttered.
"Do you not remember? She was one of the spies you sent to sabotage our facilities. She destroyed our largest warehouse, and the explosion killed 13 workers. Because of your terror attacks over 100 people died, and over 3,000 lost their jobs or their ability to work." Loki hissed. Oslofjord began to sweat. "I-I-I-"
"It seems you're not good at lying. That makes it easier for me. Let me make things clear; we will not let this blatant attack on our borders go unpunished. We will execute all 20 spies that you have smuggled into our school this evening, and will roundup all transfer students from your school for anti-terror and anti-state protocols. We will retaliate for the lives you've put out and destroyed. Do not try to stop us." Loki warned. "If you do decide to intervene, things will go bad for you…"
"Do not threaten me like this!" Oslofjord exploded with anger. "You will not lay a finger on my students. If you do the wrath of the Maternal Alliance will be upon you!" She screamed. "You act like a tyrant, and so we shall treat you like one! We will overthrow you."
There was a pause from the other side. "So you made your decision." Loki said finally. Oslofjord went rigid. "What does that mean?" She sputtered out. "Do not worry, I accept your challenge. I warn you, I will give no mercy." Loki chuckled before the line went dead. Oslofjord stared at the beeping phone with wide eyes, horrified at what just happened.
Ooarai High School, 2:36 P.M.
A member of the Public Morals Committee walked down the hallway of cells, slinging the rifle across her shoulder. She stopped when she saw the cell she was looking for. Digging her hand into her pocket, she took out a set of keys. She shoved the key into the keyhole and turned. With a loud creak the door swung open. The guard took her rifle and pointed it into the cell. "Come on, get out." She ordered, motioning with her rifle. The figure inside the cell stirred awake from her steel cot. "Fine, fine." She mumbled. She stood up and shambled towards the guard. The guard and Kana walked back upstairs, where the president was waiting.
Kana was joined by several of her friends, who were all in the same position as she was. They were unsure of where they were going, and nervous and scared. The guards pushed them towards a small black door, and they hesitantly went in.
They were met with a grinning Anzu, sitting with her legs crossed on the desk. Momo and Yuzu stood silently behind her, looking down at the floor. "Hey!" Anzu cheerfully called. Kana and her friends felt their jaws drop to the floor. "President?" Kana asked in disbelief. Anzu nodded. "That's me." She replied.
"Oh my god! I always wanted to meet you!" Kana shrieked, going into fangirl mode. Her friends stood frozen, confused by this turn of events. They looked behind her, and their eyes widened when they saw Sodoko in front of the door, glaring at them. They looked towards Kana, who was all Anzu's.
"You are such an inspiration to me!" Kana told Anzu, who stood up and walked up to her. She almost fainted when Anzu took her hand. "Aw, I'm not that good." She laughed humbly. Kana jumped up and down. "You are the best, I can't even describe how happy I am!" She began to wipe her eyes, which were slowly being filled with tears. Anzu was taken aback, and almost broke her facade. This truly was a compliment to her, no matter who the person saying it was. She almost felt guilty for what she was about to do.
"I heard so much about you. You're the top of your classes right?" Anzu asked, throwing her arm over Kana's shoulder. Kana nodded. "Yup. I'm working really hard, you know? I have my entire life figured out." She squealed. Anzu smiled. "That's good to hear." She said. She looked over Kana's shoulder. "What about your friends?" She asked. Kana turned her head, to see her friends looking around nervously. "They're just too shy!" She exclaimed. Her friends jumped up when they were mentioned. They just nodded frantically and looked down at the floor.
"President…" Anzu turned around, and saw Yuzu stepping forward. She was sweating and looked anxious. Anzu waved her back. "Don't worry, don't worry." She said. "It's all going to be fine." Yuzu stepped back and Anzu whirled around to face Kana. "What was that?" Kana asked obliviously. "Oh, it's nothing." Anzu brushed it off. "So, do you value your friends?"
Surprised by this odd question, Kana took a minute to answer. "Yes, of course. They are everything to me."
"So do I." Anzu agreed. "I wouldn't be here without them. I'm in debt to them."
Kana's eyes glittered. "That is so wonderful." She sang out. "Especially Miho. Without her none of us would be here." Anzu exclaimed. "Yeah, without-" Kana froze. "What?" She squeaked out. Her friends behind her all took a step back, and Yuzu and Momo watched with unease.
"Yes. Nishizumi Miho." Anzu's tone had become low and aggressive. "She is a dear friend of mine. And I heard of what you did to her." She growled. Kana's eyes widened. "I-I-but-um-" She stuttered. "She-she's an-"
Despite being much smaller than Kana, Anzu grabbed her by her brown hair and threw her over her own shoulder. Kana emitted a small cry as she landed on the hard floor. "What?" She started, but Anzu kicked her stomach. She was thrown back to the wall, and Anzu stormed up to her and continued to kick her on the ground. "Don't! You! Dare! Treat! Miho! That! Way!" She screamed, her face contorted with rage. "How dare you! She saved our school twice! And this is how you repay her? She did nothing to you, nothing! Even after you did so much to her she still has enough heart to not despise the likes of you! Even after you called her such horrible names she's still willing to be friends with you!" She got down and grabbed Kana by the hair, and started slamming her face against the wall. Kana wailed as blood splattered against the wall. "President!" Momo and Yuzu grabbed Anzu, but she swatted them away. "Don't touch me!" She hollered, and the two retreated, terrified of this new president. Kanas friends watched with horrified expression as Anzu mercilessly took out her anger.
Anzu pounded her fist against Kana's face, giving her a black eye and several bruises. Kana tried to push her off, but Anzu was too powerful. "How could you? How could you do this to her? She's such a nice person!" Anzu also began to cry, shouting in between sobs. "How could you? How could you?" Her movements slowed, and both girls crumpled to the floor. Sodoko was able to run over and drag Anzu away from Kana. Anzu, with all her strength, spat on the whimpering Kana, whose friends ran over to her and picked her up.
"Get them out of here." Anzu ordered, pointing to the door. She leaned on Yuzu, and began to cry softly into her. Sodoko watched Kana and her friends shamble out of the room.
"Are you alright?" Kana's friends asked her, touching her bloody face. They were shocked when she straightened up, her face seething with anger. "That...little...bitch…I'll...fucking...get...her…I swear…." She growled as her friends carried her through the hallway.
Gregor High School, 4:42 P.M.
The small village was overwhelmed by heavy fire. Kuromorimine forces tried to cross the river, but they were saturated by defensive fire from the bridge and the opposite riverbank. Artillery shells rained upon the Kuromorimine troops, while machine guns and field guns mowed them down from behind sandbags. Panzers clambered up the hill onto the dirt path leading to the bridge, followed by dozens of panzergrenadiers.
The Gregor soldier swore as bullets whizzed past her while she reloaded her ZB vz. 26 light machine gun. She quickly returned fire, taking down three girls with submachine guns. She ducked behind the sandbags, clutching her lmg. Catching her breath, she looked to the other side of the rickety wooden bridge and saw three riflewomen with vz. 33 bolt action rifles pouring fire into the soldiers caught in the open. The soldier knelt back up and pulled the trigger. The lmg kicked back into her shoulder with each burst, with dirt being thrown up as bullets dug into the ground. Empty bullet cases clanked when they landed on the ground around her. She watched the Kuromorimine soldiers quickly advancing upon her, leaving behind shot down comrades behind them. Girls with MG34s started to blast away at her position, forcing her to crouch down. The three girls across from her fell one by one, dropping their rifles and going limp. Deciding this position was too dangerous to keep defending, she turned around and dashed under the gunfire, crossing the bridge back into the friendly village.
As she hopped over the sandbags on the near side of the bridge she felt a jolt in her leg, and tumbled down down the bridge. She tried to get up, but pain shot up her leg, and she crumpled down again. She looked at her leg, and saw the bullet hole, and the blood that was pouring out. She cried out in pain, and began to crawl towards safety. A tall girl ran up to her and picked her up, turned around and sprinted full speed while Kuromorimine riflewomen aimed for her back from the top of the bridge.
The Kuromorimine troops climb over the bridge, claiming it for themselves. A grenadier fired her K98 rifle at the window with the girl with the rifle, and grinned when the girl fell out of the window. "Advance!" The officer shouted, and she and the other soldiers got up and scampered across the wooden bridge. Tiny chips flew by the grenadier's face as she dove towards the sandbags.
She crashed into the sandbags, her back being slammed to a halt. She glanced over the sandbag and saw the three LT vz. 34 light tanks groaning in the middle of the road, preparing for a counterattack. They fired their 37 mm ÚV vz.34 guns at the bridge, and the Kuromorimine infantry scattered as shells burst above them. The LT vz. 34 tanks climbed up the bridge, pushing the soldiers back. The grenadier just only had enough time to stumble away from the sandbags as the first LT vz. 34 showed its hull. The clapping of machine guns engulfed the girl, and the tracers bounced off the bridge's steel girders. She took out a grenade from her belt and tossed it behind her. She heard the explosion, and hoped the light tank was disabled. Her dream was crushed as a shell roared past her, and exploded in the forest several hundred feet in front of her.
"Alright, let's get this over with!" The Panzer III commander exclaimed, and the Panzer III drove down the forest path. Behind her were two more Panzer IIIs, five Panzer IIs, and three Panzer Is, here to reinforce the Kuromorimine attack. The bridge was getting closer, and the Panzer III commander readjusted her cap. My debut in combat! Oh, how I was waiting for this moment!
"Commander, enemy tank on the bridge, right ahead of us." The driver informed her. The commander grunted. "Alright, they're just over 200 metres in front of us. We can get them." She said. "Alrighty." The gunner shouted, turning the gun right at the LT vz. 34's turret. "Fire." The commander ordered, and the barrel recoiled as it shot out a billow of smoke. The shell tore through the turret, and the light tank went silent.
"Good job!" The commander grinned. The Panzer III groaned as it advanced up the bridge. They pushed past the empty LT vz. 34 tank and was face-to-face with the second LT vz. 34, who slowly retreated back to its own lines. It fired, but the shell only brushed past the Panzer III. The gunner of the Panzer III chuckled. "You think that's going to do anything?" She licked her lips as she squeezed her finger. With a deafening boom the LT vz. 34 flipped over onto its back, the surviving crew squirming out from underneath. "Let's advance." The Panzer III commander said. The Panzer III moved forward, crossing the entirety of the bridge. The Gregor troops ran from the river line and into the village. The Kuromorimine soldiers pick up their weapons and cross the bridge.
The Panzer III led the column of troops, with nearly two dozen girls walking behind it. This pattern was repeated with the other Panzers as well. There were also armored halftracks carrying panzergrenadiers followed suit. The Kuromorimine convoy crawled on the main road, flanked by buildings and houses, which were strangely quiet. It was as if the Gregor defenders had abandoned their positions. They marched along, nearly two hundred girls and two dozen Panzers and halftracks clumped together.
The Panzer III commander put the cigarette in her mouth, and exhaled. The enemy really did retreat after all that, she thought. Making things easier for us. She leaned back against the hatch. She looked around, and her eyes narrowed. It was quiet, too quiet for her comfort. She threw the cigarette on the ground and clambered into her tank. The other Panzer commanders kept their heads outside, taking in the nice view of the little town.
From the shadows of the alleyways the soldiers watched the Kuromorimine troops walk past them, grasping their ZK-383 submachine guns and ZH-29 semi-automatic rifles. From the three story coffee shop the snipers and heavy machine gun position remained hidden from the outside view, and girls with rifles waited behind cars, walls and pillars. Tanks, tankettes and field guns were behind the buildings. Mortar crews lay on their stomachs on the rooftops, waiting for the signal to launch their attack. As the procession of soldiers marched past one particular alleyway the 4,7cm KPÚV vz. 38 field gun slowly crawled forwards, waiting for the first tank to appear.
A Panzer III did appear in the view of the alleyway, and the crewmembers tensed as the chassis showed itself. When the entire entrance of the alleyway was covered by the body of the Panzer III, the 4,7cm KPÚV vz. 38 fired.
The shell tore into the Panzer III, killing the crew inside within seconds. As the Panzer III stopped moving, the entire Gregor trap was sprung. Submachine gunners sprung out of the shadows and began spraying the shocked Kuromorimine infantry down. From the ground floors of the houses and buildings girls with rifles popped up and covered the main road with gunfire. Even more field guns spawned, taking aim at the lumbering Panzers. The ZB-53 machine gun position rose up in the third-story of the coffee shop, mowing down the open spaces of the halftracks and the soldiers below. Snipers picked off officers and Panzer commanders. Mortar teams rose from the roofs, raining down shells and bombs on the already panicked enemy.
Entire squads were wiped out in their halftracks, their bodies slumping together and blood spraying into the air. The entire road was paved with blood and guts, corpses gunned down by the merciless ambush. One by one the Panzers were destroyed, machine gun fire sliced the commanders of the Panzers into pieces, thereby getting rid of the Panzer's ability to properly fight in combat. Girls fired their MP38s and MG34s wildy into the buildings and alleyways, trying to suppress the enemy attack. Grenades were thrown all over the place, blowing up both Gregor and Kuromorimine soldiers into the air. Girls took cover against the charred ruins of halftracks and tanks, firing their Kar98s.
The grenadier cried as the bullets crashed around her. She dove to the ground, trying to avoid the chaotic crossfire. She aimed her K98 against a Gregor soldier armed with a vz. 24 bolt action rifle in the window of a building across from her. She fired, and the stock of the rifle pushed against her. She pulled the bolt back, ejecting the bullet case. Her target dropped her rifle, and crumpled down from view. She turned around and saw the barrel of a ZK-383 pointing directly at her head. She quickly ducked her head as a flurry of bullets whizzed past above her. Her rifle at her hip, she fired at the submachine gunner. The bullet bit into the submachine gunner's hip, taking a chunk out of her body. The submachine gunner collapsed, the submachine gun firing uncontrolled as her finger was still tightly squeezed against the trigger.
The ZB-53 machine gun fired away, still cutting down the infantry below. The machine gunner sneered while she continued to grip her hands around the handles. Those idiots actually fell for the trap! The hundreds of bullet cases flew out of the MG, while the MG belt quickly grew shorter. She swiveled her machine gun around, slicing down any soldier that had the misfortune to put herself as a target. The snipers in the other room were also having a grand old time, taking their time peering through their scopes and pulling the trigger, putting tiny red holes into the heads of many soldiers.
"Shit! Where do we shoot? What the fuck?" The girls in the Panzer III panicked as bullets pinged off the armor of the tank. The commander swore loudly as she sat in her seat. The machine gun and snipers in the building are giving the infantry a hard time, but the field guns are now turning their barrels towards her right at this moment. "Gunner, destroy the 4,7cm KPÚV vz. 38s!" She ordered. The gunner nodded and turned the gun to the alleyway, where a field gun was reloading. The gunner grunted as she fired the gun, and the crew of the field gun ran as it exploded. She gave out a small cheer as she cranked the turret to face the ZB-53 machine gun in the coffee shop. The entire upper half of the building was engulfed in a cloud of smoke. The coffee shop collapsed onto itself. "Another problem solved." The commander noted.
A Gregor soldier repeatedly pulled the trigger of her ZH-29 SLR, pumping out bullet after bullet into the throng of enemies in front of her, each one making a bloody mark. This was all too easy for her and her comrades. The overconfident enemy had marched right into their deaths. She reloaded her SLR and resumed shooting out from her window. Bullets split heads in two, brain and skull spilling onto the brick road.
Even as the Kuromorimine force was getting slaughtered, more reinforcements poured in from the bridge. Eventually they pulled themselves together and counterattacked. They sallied forth, using their smgs, grenades and mgs to pushed their way out of the ambush. Panzergrenadiers flooded into the alleyways, where the Gregor defenders tried to hold them back. Scurrying around like rats, the alleyways soon became a furious war zone, the walls became smeared with blood. Field guns blasted soldiers into bits and pieces. Kuromorimine girls stormed the houses and buildings, tossing their grenades inside before kicking down the door and storming inside. Panzers crash into buildings, crushing the defenders from the weight of the walls and the treads of the tanks. Each room, each stairwell and each street became a battlefield in it of itself.
The grenadier slammed the butt of her rifle against the wooden door like a battering ram, each hit denting the door even more. Soldiers piled behind her, reloading their smgs and rifles, with one taking out a grenade. As the grenadier continued to rammed the door down, there were a series of cries from the inside. "Please don't hurt us!" The door broke down and the grenadier stepped in, only to find in the corner of the room a group of women and children trembling in the corner.
By the early night the fight was over: the remainder of the Gregor soldiers surrendered to the Kuromorimine troops. They gathered, along with the civilians of the village, some 1,400 of them in the village square. Kuromorimine girls watched them with a wrathful gaze; especially the survivors of the traumatic incident. Out of the two hundred soldiers that fell into the ambush, nearly half of them were killed, the rest wounded either physically or mentally. The streets were paved with corpses and blood, along with the dozen or so Panzers and halftracks in ruins. The survivors grab their weapons and advance upon the civilians and prisoners. Enraged, they turn their guns on the defenseless people. In a massacre unheard of before, the Kuromorimine gunned them down in an infuriated state. Girls with MG34s mowed them down like grass, while officers with pistols executed individuals with a shot to the back of the head. Infantrywomen beat men and boys to death with their rifles, using bayonets and butts to murder them. Panzer Is rolled over prisoners, crushing their bodies.
The reinforcements watched the survivors butcher the Gregor civilians and prisoners. While some tried to stop them, many joined in the carnage while most watched with interest. They rounded up random civilians and began hanging them from the trees. Prisoners were lined up by the Kuromorimine troops and gunned down into makeshift ditches. The prisoners and civilians begged for mercy towards their captors, but it was all for naught as they were being slaughtered.
The grenadier stood with her rifle aimed her rifle at the woman groveling at her feet. "Please, please let me live!" She pleaded to the grenadier. She kicked the women in the stomach and shot her. The woman's abdomen was ripped in two, her guts spilling out. The grenadier immediately realized what she had done and collapsed on the ground.
After when most of the civilians and prisoners were murdered a senior Kuromorimine officer came storming over, ranting and screaming about the ethics of war. After a few shots into the air with her Luger, the soldier scattered. But the damage was already done. One survivor, just a child, escape back to Gregor lines just to spread the tale of the atrocity.
Viggens High School, 6:19 P.M.
The sun was setting against the horizon, casting an orange ray across the green field. There were twenty wooden posts poking out from the ground, with twenty girls tied to them accordingly. White bandanas were tied around their eyes, making them blind as the kneeled. Forty uniformed soldiers stood silently, rifles at their sides. They watched the girls struggled to get out of their predicament.
An officer stepped forward, her stern face staring at the prisoners in front of her. "For the act of terrorism against the school and the murder of over 100 students, I hereby condemn these foreign spies to execution by firing squad!" She shouted. She raised her arm. "Get ready!" She bellowed, and the forty soldiers simultaneously aimed their bolt action rifles against the 20 doomed girls. The girls squirmed against their posts in a desperate attempt to live for a few more seconds. Some cried, tears rolling out of the bandanas, while some were silent, accepting their fate.
"Fire!" The officer hollered as she lowered her arm. Forty gunshots rang out, and twenty bodies jerked around as they were punctured by bullets. They stopped writhing, and slumped down, blood trickling down the wooden posts.
Osaka, United Front, 9:21 P.M.
The hundreds of fires lit the city up in a painting of red and orange in an otherwise dark night. Plumes of smoke blotted out the clear sky. Colorful tracers raced against the streets, and the rattling of machine guns and roaring of tanks echoed throughout the night. The whistling of artillery bombarded entire blocks.
Mengjiang watched in dismay from her tower as the southern part of the city burned to the ground. Her eyes were hollow and her face was pale. Her small figure was slumped down and her clothes were crinkled up. She stumbled down into a chair, exhausted. This battle was going very badly for her. Her 4th Army, though outnumbering the Chi-ha-Tan invaders nearly 4-to-1, they were ill-equipped to fight the modern enemies. Her armored forces were hopelessly outclassed against the lightly armored tanks of Chi-ha-Tan.
Grumbling to herself, she stood up and walked over to a cabinet. She threw the doors open, and rummaged through the cabinet until she pulled out a bottle of whiskey. Grabbing a shot glass, she stumbled back to her chair. She tore the cap off of the bottle and poured herself a drink. This job was taking a much too heavy toll on her. Why Zhejiang pushed her to resist her was a wonder-why she relented was another question that nagged at the back of her head. She tossed her head back and swallowed the shot of whiskey, her long hair reaching the carpeted floor. After pouring three more shots for herself, she decided the shot glass was unnecessary. She threw the shot glass behind her, and the glass shattered against the wall. She began chugging the entire bottle, each gulp making her feel better by the minute. She then turned angry, angry at Zhejiang for this basically suicide mission and angry at herself for letting the enemy advance this far.
"General!" Mengjiang turned her head and saw a staff officer running towards her. "What are you doing?" She demanded.
"I~can't do~this anymore~" Mengjiang slurred angrily, waving the bottle of whiskey like a child. She tried to swat the staff officer away, but the bigger girl put her in a bearhug. "Stop it~" Mengjiang ordered but the staff officer ignored it. "You stop it, general. You can't start drinking now." She told her. Mengjiang hanged her head low. "Why does this have to happen to me?" She asked in a low voice as the staff officer picked her up. "What?" The staff officer said. Mengjiang looked up at her with tears in her eyes. "Why do I have to be put in such a position? My girls are being slaughtered on the ground and I can't do anything about it!" She wailed. "I can't set up a defensive position without it being broken through! There's not even enough food and supplies for us. It's only a matter of time before we all die." She whimpered. The staff officer began stroking her hair as she carried her out of the room. "You just need some sleep, general." She whispered.
Viking Fisheries High School, 11:51 P.M.
Oslofjord and her staff officers sat in the room, staring at the maps with troubled looks on their faces.
"Viggens sure is becoming a problem." One girl noted. Oslofjord nodded. "Yes, they are a thorn on our side and are getting extremely aggressive these last few days." She agreed solemnly. A girl crossed her arms. "How will we deal with them?" She asked in an annoyed tone.
Oslofjord stood up. "Girls!" She shouted, and everybody whirled their faces to look at her in astonishment. "I have decided we will embark on a military campaign against Viggens!" She proclaimed. The girls around her dropped their jaws. "What?" One exclaimed. "But we have little to no-" Another one stuttered out, but Oslofjord interrupted. "I know I know. That is why we must take the initiative. I have also gotten guarantees from Keizoku and Yogurt incase we suffer a defeat from them. With three schools surrounding them, Viggens will not be able to mount a defense." She explained. The rest of the girls looked at each other with worried expressions. "Are you sure that is a good idea?" One asked. Oslofjord cleared her throat. "I know you are worried. I understand. But we are in a dangerous situation. Is there any other way to solve our problems? I say no, action is the only way. We will quickly overwhelm their borders and take their capital city. We will make them sue for peace and send them harsh terms for their arrogance." She sat down in her seat. "I believe God is on our side." She declared boldly. The other girls smiled and saluted her. "Of course. We will do our utmost best to achieve victory."
Hey, VSauce, Michael here! JK it's just me. Another chapter finally done! Things are getting even more intense between Viggens and Viking Fisheries, and the battle between Bonple and Kuromorimine is at its peak. It's either victory or defeat, so they will do anything to win the ultimate battle.
And now Kuromorimine committed the first war crime so far in the story. Unfortunately, things will even get more brutal for the non-combatants and prisoners.
Now, how do you all like this series? Is there a particular thing that grabs your interest? Is there a character you have an eye for? Is there something you don't like or don't understand? Is there something I can improve on? PM or reviews are always appreciated. Thank you for reading and until next chapter, Panzer Vor!