Girls Und Panzer: World Tournament

Chapter 4: Histories, Cultures, and Legends

Bovington Camp - Bovington, England

"Wow!" Yukari says as she looked out the passenger window, "It really is Bovington!" The train had pulled into the station and was gradually coming to a stop. "I've only seen this place in magazines!"

Miho could see it too. She only ever heard about this place from her mother back in Kuromorimine. She never thought that she'd actually be in THE tank museum of the world. "You guys are stationed in a museum?" Miho asks Montgomery.

"Actually no, we're stationed at Bovington Camp. We're actually in it right now. It's more like the museum is inside the camp." Montgomery explained. "See, some of the vehicles in the museum still belong to the Royal Army, so the camp here is to allow us to train new recruits on the history of tanks and all the stuff that comes with it like operation and maintenance."

He says, but really the whole train trip had been nothing more than a culture osmosis for the Ōarai school girls. Montgomery and Brooke talked about the English society and culture as they passed by some landmarks on the rail. Miho tried asking about Tankery, but they said to hold it until they reached Bovington.

"I hate repeating," Montgomery answered when Anzu asked why wait. What with 33 students here, perhaps he just wants to explain it altogether rather than just to Miho.

The train came to a full stop and the doors of the passenger car opens. "Alright, exit in orderly fashioned girls," Anzu says to the car she is in.

As they got out onto the train station, Miho notes the number of cranes and different mechanical equipment available in their stop. Definitely a station more worthy of heavy equipment and vehicles than passengers. She also notes that among the all the equipment around were people, people working and with the same uniform as Montgomery and Brooke. Mostly men, but there were some women among them too. All but a few couldn't be much older than 18. There was a man much older than them all with a more elaborate camouflage and was barking orders, probably their commander?

Montgomery got off the train and went over to that man. Montgomery saluted first, definitely a sign that the older man was of a more senior status, saluting back.

"Instructor, I have returned with the guests." Montgomery said to him. The instructor scanned the girls unloading off the passenger car.

"These girls? Huh, well they better be worth the time Sergeant."

"Instructor, I must inform that these girls are from Ōarai. That brunette girl next to the tiny red-head is Miho Nishizumi herself."

"The Nishi-?" The instructor said in disbelief. He took a close attention on Miho.

"U-um," Miho says, still not too comfortable being cast into the spotlight.

"Who's he calling 'tiny red-head'?" Anzu grits.

The instructor focused back at Montgomery, "Well, perhaps this will be an interesting week. So they're here for an overview on Tankery correct?"

"Correct. With your permission Instructor, I wish to take the guests and Brooke into the Tank Museum and give them the break down."

"Permission granted. I'll handle to unloading here. Don't worry about it Sergeant."

"Thank you Instructor!" Montgomery says, saluting. The instructor salutes back and Montgomery breaks off back to the school girls as the Instructor barks off orders to the others people working there.

"So what's up?" Brooke says to Montgomery.

"We're taking these girls onto a tour." Montgomery said.

"Tour?" Miho asked.

"Yep, inside the Tank Museum."

"WHAT!?" A cry came out among the crowd. Miho recognizes that voice as Yukari, sighing with a hint of amusement.

"Well, what better way to explain the history of our Tankery than to go along with the evolution of tanks?" Montgomery explained. "The curator should still be there and it's not a busy day for the museum."

"Does this mean I'm helping along with the tour?" Brooke asked Montgomery."

"Yes."

"Oh boy!"

The girls were all excited about this. A tank museum? Visit? Miho knows about the significance of the Tank Museum, there'd be a lot of amazing and rare artifacts inside for them all to see.

"Huh," Anzu said, "This is an interesting development."

"Well, if this is what they think is the best way to teach us about Tankery…" Momo said. She was slightly annoyed at how casual Montgomery was taking them through this. She expected a straightforward lesson, but most of the time on the train was wasted on less important stuff for Ōarai.

"What about you Darjeeling?" Montgomery asked. "Will your team be accompanying them into the museum?"

"I-"

"DARJEELING-SAMA, Lets! I've never been in the Tank Museum." Rosehip shouted loudly near Darjeeling's face.

"Rosehip. Do you know why you are never invited to formal events?" Darjeeling said with a voice of a sharpened knife.

"B-because I'm loud and obnoxious…?" Rosehip meekly replied.

"Yes," Darjeeling said. Rosehip shirked back to silence. "Please mind your manners Rosehip. Anyways Montgomery, my team and I would gladly accompany with you to the museum."

"Tots, let's go!" Montgomery said as he started walking.

"No car?" A voice in the crowd, Nekonya, could be heard. The walk to the museum was across a large field and was quite a distance away.

"C,mon. Where are your strong Tanker legs?" Montgomery simply replied.

"Wait, what about our tanks?" Miho asked, looking at the 11 tanks still on the flatbed cars.

"My comrades will help you unload them," Montgomery said, pointing at the uniformed men and women in the train yard. "Don't worry, they're not going to touch anything."

"Oh."

"Anyways, let's go!"

The Tank Museum - Bovington, England

"And here we are at the entrance," Montgomery said as they approach the large orange building. A Challenger 1 stood in the front as a gate guardian.

"Wow! A Challenger 1 Main Battle Tank!" Yukari said.

"Yep! Challenger 1!" Brooke says in the same excited tone as Yukari. They both can't seem to contain their excitement.

Montgomery opened the entrance and everyone flooded in after him. The interior architecture was amazing and well-constructed with the light reflecting off the white roof and illuminating the exhibition hall through the entrance windows. As the girls gape with awe, Montgomery was over by the entrance desk talking with the staff there.

"Wow! I can see a Cromwell here!"

"What's that car next to it?"

"Hey, isn't that a Centurion?"

Those words came out of the girls looking out into the exhibition hall through the window. Anglerfish and the student council seemed to be the most composed in this room at the moment.

"It's a lovely place," Hana notes on the interior designing.

"It really is," Saori says. "Man, these countries take these things really seriously huh?"

"Nishizumi-dono! Isn't this amazing!? Look at all those tanks! You'll never see such a collection anywhere else," Yukari yammers.

"Well, there's that place in France…" Miho mentioned.

"Alright, calm down girls. We see these tanks a lot during the tournament and matches! We ride some of these tanks. There's nothing that you need to go all crazy about," Momo said.

Something ticked off in Yukari. "Nothing to be crazy about!?" These tanks aren't just some cheap reproduction being churned off from corporation. These are authentic, real tanks made for the purpose of war! Nothing is fake about these, nothing artificial! These are real historical artifacts!"

"That is true," Montgomery said as he came from behind the group. Miho turns around to see a senior man in a sharp suit. "Most of the vehicles in the collection are indeed historical and marked as such. But some of those tanks are not and are actually ours."

"Yours?" Yukari asked.

"Well, with our stock of World War II vehicles, we let the museum borrow some of the ones we don't use to show to the public in stand of the real deals. So we have extra storage space for our vehicles, and they can use our vehicles as exhibits once in a while." Montgomery says. He had a USB drive in one of his hand, probably picked up from the staff he talked to. "Let's all move to the orientation room so we don't clutter up the entrance hall.

A double door to the side of the entrance hall led to the orientation room. Big enough to hold the entire group, everyone found a seat as Montgomery and Brooke were setting up the presentation program.

"So, we're all here to learn about Tankery, yes?" Montgomery rhetorically asks. "Well we'll explain a good portion of the history then go over the current events of Tankery and other finer details."

The projector lighted up and put up an image of Europe. Miho looked at it and recognized the setting as the 1910s.

"Now, who can tell me when the first tanks were ever built?" Montgomery asked like a teacher in a class. Among the other hands raised, Yukari raised her hand as fast as possible. "Yes, you with the fluffy hair."

"World War I!"

"That's right. World War I." Montgomery says as the image flickered to a series of highlighted borders of different color. "It was in World War I that tanks became a part of modern warfare. Now why was that?" Hands were raised again and Montgomery pointed towards Erwin.

"To break through the stalemate of trench warfare. While there were armored vehicles like car in existence, they couldn't cross the terrible terrain of the western front. This led to the adoption of caterpillar tracks for the ability to move across rough terrain. The tanks were developed as 'landships' by the Landship Committee in the Navy that was established by Winston Churchill in 1915. However, sometime during development they figured 'landships' were too conspicuous and decided to use the terminology tanks in reference to water tanks to code name the new armored fighting vehicles. The first tank ever was 'Little Willie', a 14 ton machine, that proved the tank concept and went on further to the first combat tank the Mark I," Erwin exposit.

"Ah, yes and…"

"The Mark I first saw combat in the Battle of Somme. Though many broke down, it proved that tanks could achieve a breakthrough in enemy lines and more were ordered. This caused an arms race in tank and anti-tank technology as the British built better tanks like the Mark IV and V, Germans developed K bullet and bundled grenades to fight the tanks. In 1916, the French then developed the first modern tank design, the Renault FT, a light tank with the core aspect of being cheap to mass produced and able to engage in a 360° angle. The French eventually produced the most tanks in World War I. The Germans, ironically, didn't produce lots of tanks and only ended up with 20 A7V heavy tanks. The limited number meant the majority of tanks in German service were actually captured British or French tanks. In the end, World War I was the genesis of armored fighting vehicles and the tank design." Erwin concluded.

Silence…

"Well… thank you, miss. That takes care of World War I." Montgomery said flabbergasted. "So that's the start of the tanks. But what about Tankery? Does anyone know?"

Brooke raised her hands here, but she was ignored. "Well, the concept of it actually started around the interwar period between World War I and II. After World War I, Germany had to agree to the Treaty of Versailles, which notably banned tank development in Germany." Montgomery said as he switched the projector image to one with two pictures, a map of the borders in the interwar period and a painting of the Versailles meeting. "Now, Germany being the sneaky bunch they are, decided they will instead develop tanks outside Germany in the Soviet Union. When the nation that enforced the Treaty of Versailles, Britain and France, got suspicious, Germany said these 'tanks' were actually 'sporting vehicles' for Panzerfahren, 'tank driving'".

He says and then switched the image to one with a Panzer I, but it had young woman standing next to it, smiling at the camera. "To enforce this disguise, Germany went ahead and started a full-scale youth program for this, encouraging school boys and girls such as yourselves to enter this program saying it will promote the health of the body and mind. The program also helped by allowing Germany to import the tanks in Soviet Union to their homeland, where they can start stockpiling their tank force for the future Panzer Divisions. But anyways, that was the first reference in history of any sorts of 'Tankery'."

The girls whispered about this silently to each other before Montgomery continued, switching the slide to one showing the Iron Curtain in the Cold War. "After World War II, as you may know, tank development took a large prioritization as NATO and the Warsaw Pact faced off. But you can't make great armies with just good tanks as the German experience in World War II showed, so we needed a way to give our men in the field experience in tank combat without using actual combat." The slide switched to show a group of soldiers with rifles, rifles with blank adapters. "Military simulation became a thing where army BLUE forces fight OPPOSITION forces. Ways to improve the simulation and training experience led to new technology such as lasers, rubber bullets, plastic bullets and the such. While some of these were great on firearms for the infantry, it was hard for tanks to get a feel of the different ballistics needed to calculate their shots. There were a lot of room for error and different tactics, especially when it becomes an armor versus armor situation. That's when the first actual "sporting application" took root."

Montgomery says this as the projector image switched to two tanks. One is a M1 Abram and the other is a cutaway of a different M1 Abrams. "Someone developed and intricate computer system inside the tank in the 1960s. Something similar to the laser tag system, but instead is optimized against kinetic rounds. The combination of training rounds that uses less penetrative material, yet possess the same ballistic, made this system a great simulation kit for the military with those rounds. It's most famous usage was in the United States' National Training Center that prepared the American armored forces to fight when Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm were launched in 1991."

The next image transition showed what appeared to be a M60 tank, but instead of military personnel operating them like in previous slides, but boys in casual clothing. "Around that time the computer system was implemented, interest in tanks had become skyrocketing. It wasn't long that a 'privatized' tank competition began in California. Using his private collection as a stockpile, he upgraded these tanks with the same computer system used by the military and adapted shells to be used in the role. Now I don't know how he got around the destructive devices law in California, but he must have some inside help. That sport grew popular enough that it started to spread in the states, then it started moving to international markets such as Britain, India, France, Germany. Before long, there as a huge market for this thing. Factories were churning out replica tanks and shells for this. The various government and organizations tried to limit this, seeing it as a dangerous activity. But arguments, appeals, and all the hassle eventually had them conceded, that it was a lot easier having the widely popular sport around with regulation, than to shut it down or let it out openly.

The slide transitioned and now showed what seemed to be a meeting at the United Nations. "Various laws were signed, as well as the establishment of an international regulation committee to oversee this activity. This committee then started the first international tournament years back and it grew wide and strong. That committee became the International League, which continues to govern the international Tankery activity to this very day." Montgomery finally concluded before the projector slide turned off, ending that presentation.

"And that's how Tankery became how it is today. Across the world, different nations developed different attitudes to Tankery which evolved to different formats. Almost like traditional martial arts with Taekwondo and Judo, you know have Tankery and Sensha-Dou as you would call it. That summarizes the basic history behind Tankery" Montgomery finishes. Miho was thoroughly impressed on the whole history. She never got the full story of Tankery before, only learning about Sensha-Dou traditions.

"Now Brooke and I will be going over the current events of Tankery. It's changed a lot very recently, in fact it changed the most in this past year."

"Huh?" Miho and some other girls were wondering. Afterall, it was only last year that Ōarai started any form of Tankery.

Montgomery continued, "So first, current events. As you know, Tankery is a recognized international sport. Almost every country with an abled industrial base can sustain it due to the International League, shortened to I.L. Tankery is in competition however with the flight community. The advent of helicopters and jets have not been kind to tanks in both military and sport wise. There is some appeal in the aviation that draws almost as much attention as tanks. Whether it is the concept of the freedom of the sky or the daredevil tricks, I don't know, I'm not an expert on that. But it is because of this that tournaments sponsored by the I.L. had become a lot more competitive as of recent. Prizes, honor, recognition, have all been gambled on these tournaments."

He says this and Miho remembers how the student council rode on the National Tournament to save Ōarai. If a national competition could save a school, how much could an international tournament accomplish?

"Naturally, many communities are encouraged by these benefits to excel in Tankery, leading to the growth of many established schools around the world. While many are private schools, military-oriented schools and organizations tend to do much better in national competitions. Such as the Army Cadet Force, like me." He says referring to himself.

"So we got all sorts of tournaments out there supported by the I.L." Emma took over, "and you're probably wondering, 'geez, how do we keep the rules in check?' Well, I.L. fixes that too with an established rule book." She says as she reaches into a carrier bag that was strapped around her shoulders. She takes out a small paperback cyan book with a black spine case. "This here is the official rule book for the International League, with country specific ones as well."

"Country specific ones?" Miho asked.

"Some countries prefer their own set of rules," Emma said. "Ranging from restrictions, what's allowed, amounts of ammo you can carry, what kinds of rounds can be carried, local laws, et cetera. That kind of things." She said. "Imagine it like a custom game rule in an online multiplayer game."

"U-um excuse me!" A voice in the orientation ask, Miho recognized as Aya. "Does Japan have their own set of rules?"

"Of course!" Emma responds enthusiastically. "Japan did a lot of modifications to the standard I.L. rules actually." She flips open the book somewhere near the end and seems to put her finger on what she wants. "Okay, so let's go over your basic rules...ah! Rules of Sensha-Dou. Here it says...competition battles are either flag battles or elimination battles. Number of vehicles for a side cannot exceed the number designated by the league. Match location is decided by the league and cannot be accessed 72 hours prior to the match date. Vehicle design restricted to those with a complete prototype by August 15, 1945. Open-top vehicles are restricted to approval. Each vehicle must have proper referee equipments. All rounds are league-sanctioned ammunition, A.K.A. the training rounds. Conditions of victory and defeat, prohibited actions, yada yada yada. That kind of stuff you should be familiar right?"

Miho and a few girls up front nodded. Emma continued, "Yes, see, Japanese rules take a lot from the standard I.L. rules, but they actually omitted some that we practice here."

"Like what?" Momo asked.

Emma looked over the Montgomery, who's been standing patiently as Emma explained her part. "One of the significant rule difference is that the use of force on exposed crew members with approved-firearms is allowed."

"Wait, what?!" Some of the girls said, some like Miho went with a "Eh?!"

"That's right, the machine guns on the tanks can be used against exposed crew members such as the commander."

Momo started, "But, that breaches so many safety codes in the League's-"

"Any how different is the machine guns from the risk of getting blown up by one of those tank shells?" Montgomery explained. "Don't worry, the guns are adapted to fire non-lethal ammunition and only that. Sure it's a risky venture, but the risk is evaluated and the I.L. seems content that the encouragement of the firearms against crew may discourage or lower the attempts at using the tank cannons when a crew member is sighted. This also allows the players to fight back against disembarked crew members attempting to scout. I guess if you want a silver-lining with this, the health insurance with the tournament helps cover any Tankery-related injury during the match."

"The International League must be really rich if they can afford that kind of risk…" Someone said.

"Well, yes, but that's the most primary rule difference," Montgomery continued. "There are some other minor details like how one should treat captured enemies. I'm sure you are aware of the rule to scout enemy base for intel on the upcoming match?"

"Uh, well. Heh." Yukari chuckled.

"Well, it's a lot more intense in the international field. Obviously the biggest strain here is that each opponent are located in different parts of the world. There are some specific rules regarding the scout. Firstly, he or she is treated in a manner according to the Geneva Convention."

"Wow, that military-oriented?" Yukari asked. Then again, she's never been caught yet to know exactly how other schools would've treated her.

"Yep, since its international grounds. If they manage to capture you, they'll hold you until the day of the match, when they'll release you back to your team. But if you get away scot-free, you're free to do whatever you want with the information you acquired." Montgomery explained.

"Wow, so strict huh?" Hana said. "In Japan they're suppose to kick you off and send you back right away."

"Well, I suppose so according to the rules. Anyways, this is all some of the core differences, but I'm sure there are bound to be more this year."

"What do you mean by that Montgomery?" Miho asked.

"It's because of that MEXT idiot in Japan. He caused all this."

"Huh? How?" Anzu asked.

"You know that match with University? The one to save your school? You know how he approved the Karl-Gerät in that match?"

Miho nodded, she remember rather fondly how an enormous siege vehicle was lobbing 600 mm shells onto the top of their heads. She could still remember the shockwave that shook the Earth as the shells landed.

"The Karl-Gerät has always been on the International League's most contested vehicles on the approval list. It'd never get past the bureaucracy of the approval tables. When that guy decided to screw up that system and added the Karl-Gerät to your match. He pretty much broke the system," Montgomery said. "Soon, we had people all over the world sending appeals, request, and the such citing that usage of the Karl-Gerät. I won't hide that we did the same ourselves, but basically a whole bunch of vehicles that would've been rejected by the League suddenly became available on the reasoning that the usage of the Karl-Gerät showed that these vehicles were viable Tankery equipment. Gah! That guy screwed up so much! Can't believe they didn't fire him already!"

"What vehicles in question?" Momo asked. Noting the anger in Montgomery's words as he spoke of that MEXT minister. He caused a lot of trouble for them and he's still there as if he's waiting to pounce again.

"Mainly open-topped vehicles," Montgomery said. "The Karl-Gerät is historically an open-topped vehicle with a large crew working on the entire darn thing. So when that was used in-game, people appealed saying that 'Hey, if a Karl-Gerät can be in Tankery, why can't ours?!' So now we got vehicles like the M10, M18 Hellcat, Archer, Marder III, and all kinds of stuff that are now approved for Tankery usage."

"So basically all the self-propelled guns in service…" Yukari summarized. "Wait! Wouldn't that rule of the use of force on crew members make that redundant? Who would want to sit on a vehicle that exposes them if they can get gunned down?"

Montgomery faced at Yukari in the crowd, "Because if a little exposure can give a team much needed anti-tank power, they're willing to sacrifice some safety for it. I've got a couple of my guys already volunteering to be on the Archers to use the full 17-pounder guns even if I find it unnecessary."

"Wait Montgomery," Anzu butted in. "How did you know about our match with University? It wasn't exactly a publicized match. Any how did you know that we did it for our school?"

"Because almost the entire armored network knows about it," Emma said as she reached into her carrier bag against. "There were some reporters present actually, sneaked their way in or something like that. They reported everything they saw." She pulled out a rather crumpled newspaper that was aging and held it up for the crowd to see. "You guys made front-line pages."

There it was, in the boldest font used:

Ōarai DEFEATS UST! The LEGEND takes another win for the team!

"What?!" Some girls cried out.

"We're famous!"

"I wonder if mom saw that?!"

"Miho, did we ever see that on the newspaper?" Saori asked.

"No, I don't recall," Miho pondered. "Did you think we were just missed?"

"Perhaps the MEXT didn't want the whole nation knowing someone defeated their system…" Hana suggested. Well, they did make an embarrassment out of them by dealing their way out of a closed school.

"Yep, you guys are a talk of the world's Tankery niche!" Emma said, still holding the newspaper proudly.

"Who's the 'Legend'?" Caesar asked.

"Oh, her," Emma said eyeing that word specifically. "The legendary tanker who made waves among the entire tank community. Her name probably helped as it's recognized internationally, but her feats such as this helped cement her fame in the world."

"Who is she?" Miho asked, curious.

Emma simply smiled. "It's you, Miho Nishizumi," She says pointing to the picture attached. It was Anglerfish team on their Panzer IV, with her finger pointed on Miho's face.

"Ehhhh?! ME?!"

"The Legend who performed unimaginable feats never thought to be known in Tankery," Montgomery said. "Miho, you brought a school of total nothingness in Tankery into one of an international spotlight in only months with your feats." He says this with a kind of adoration as well, as if a kid met his favorite basketball star.

"Di-Did that really warrant me such a title in the WHOLE community?" Miho asked pleadingly, as if she couldn't take the extra attention she's getting from everyone in the room.

"Remember how I said Tankery tournament benefits had an effect on the world? Here you are in the spotlight. Almost every major Tankery school and organizations knows you and the Nishizumi name now."

Everyone was still in awe on just how popular Miho was to the world, whereas Miho was kind of faint from this. "U-um, I don't think I can handle this pressure…"

"Ha, no worries Miho," Anzu reassured. "Just act like you do everyday before this!"

"How am I supposed to do that when everyone's just staring at me?!" This was all just like when she was singled out on her first day of school at Ōarai by the student council president. Singled out by her unwanted fame and legacy. Sure, she knew she made herself impressionable among the different schools in Japan, but throughout the world?!

"Either way, that's nothing much else we have to talk about Tankery in the international viewpoint," Montgomery said, concluding the orientation. "There will be some changes announced on the day of the drawing for the World Tournament exhibition matches, so we'll all get the final details then. Any questions?"

Azusa raised her hand, "How many tanks are allowed in the World Tournament for each side?"

"Hmm, well that depends. But it can be between 30 to 50 vehicles."

"50 vehicles?!" The girls were all surprised. They thought the 30 in the University match was bad enough, even with the reinforcement they got from their rival schools.

"Don't worry though, they'll definitely start at a minimum at the starting matches. I just don't know what it is until the League says so. It keeps changing y'know," Montgomery reassured. "Anyone else?"

No one else raised their hands or had any other questions. "Well, if there is no other questions about Tankery. How about something to test your knowledge on Tankery?"

"What do you mean?" Miho asked.

"Let's have a mock match tomorrow. Elimination. My cadets against Ōarai and St. Gloriana."

"Eh?!" Most of the girls in the room in the room reacted.

"You just want another excuse to fight me again, huh Montgomery?" Darjeeling said. Miho noted that throughout the entire presentation, Darjeeling and the other St. Gloriana students didn't react as much as Ōarai. Did they know all this already?

"Maybe. But either way, these girls need some hands-on experience with professional Tankers. Not more of that Sensha-Dou stuff. We're going to do it the way the International League will do it."

"Sweet! So we'll be fighting Ōarai, commander?!" Emma said with a squee.

"That's the gist of it. If they'll agree." Montgomery said motioning to Miho. She realized she was now in the attention spotlight, waiting to give the go-ahead.

"I-I don't see why not," Miho said, "I'll accept your challenge!"

"That's mighty fine to hear," Montgomery said.

"Wow! We're really going to be fighting against cadet tankers?!" Yukari shouted.

"Wow! We're really going to be fighting against Ōarai?!" Emma squeed. For a moment, it seemed like the two were meant for each other.

"Well, anyways, that concludes the whole orientation," Montgomery said. "You are all dismissed. You can go into the museum and tour around, but don't leave the premises alright? This is still military territory. The train to take you back to the port will be in a few hours, I'll make sure the museum will notify you guys over the intercom or I'll make them have you sleep in with their tanks."

"I wouldn't mind that!" Yukari said.

"Don't worry about your tanks, we can hold them here. Anyways, get outta here. Go have fun or something. Admission is free for you all, on the house!" Montgomery said and everyone dispersed really. Miho was still glued to her seat as she thought over everything that just happened. Tankery is a whole new culture huh?

While most of the students left the room to go to the museum, Miho was still in thought on her seat. "Is something wrong Miho?" Saori asked.

"H-huh? Oh, it's nothing," Miho explained.

"Sorry about all that info dump," Montgomery said. "I guess you never knew you were so popular outside of Japan huh?"

"Well, I always though the Nishizumi school was kind of a spotlight in the world…"

"And you surpassed even that Miho. You're a name in the community. One that everyone looks up to and adore or resent."

"Resent?"

"Let's say there are some tank aces out there in the Tankery community who really wants a crack at you. Especially from the major countries. United States, Russia, and Germany."

"That bad, huh?" Miho said. "Tankery is a whole lot different culture than I thought it was from Sensha-Dou."

"Isn't it not the same ideology in Japan?" Montgomery asked. "I thought it was just the rules. How are we so different?"

"Well first of all," Hana said. "Boys in Sensha-Dou aren't really looked upon as Sensha-Dou is considered a spiritual martial arts for women, kind of like archery of flowering."

"Men can't do Tankery in Japan?" Montgomery asked. "Man, that sounds lame. Speaking in a man's perspective."

"And they never emphasized competition in the matches, only that they are for fun and to promote health and that such. Kind of like competitive martial arts." Miho said.

"So Japan really tried to look at the spiritual part of Tankery? I guess I really shouldn't be too surprised. I heard China was somewhere along that line too…"

"Not to mention that there are the Nishizumi and Shimada teaching style that make up the main core of the Sensha-Dou styles."

"I heard about those two. Largest League-sponsored organizations in Japan. They really stand out among the others in Japan huh?"

"Yeah…" Miho said remembering her time in Kuromorimine, adhering the the Nishizumi style. "They're pretty rough."

"Anyways, Tankery don't have that restrictions between boys and girls and is very competitive, so expect to see lots of fierce opponents in this field. Most of the entrants in the World Tournament are bound to be military personnels. They'll have a lot more field and practical experiences than you girls have so be ready."

Miho understood. The Nationals back in Japan was just the tip of the iceberg for their competition. St. Gloriana, Saunders, Pravda, Kuromorimine, they were all relatively tiny to the whole world and their capabilities. In fact, Miho was getting nervous on fighting such a foe that could be disproportionately larger and stronger than Ōarai, maybe even the entire Japanese Sensha-Dou team.

"Miho, in the end, you can see this as a great learning experience for Ōarai," Anzu said. "If you can see how the world does their Sensha-Dou, we can adapt and become a stronger school in Japan!"

"Ōarai has a lot of potential to grow with you there Miho," Darjeeling said, still there and sipping her tea. "I would love to have more competition in the Sensha-Dou competition."

"It's alright Nishizumi-dono! We can do this!" Yukari said.

"I'm right behind you on this Miporin!" Saori said.

"It doesn't matter if we win or lose, let's just do our best!" Hana said.

"Everyone…" Miho, touched by everyone's support.

"Mako? Are you still sleeping?" Saori asked, noting the absence of Mako's voice. Mako had nodded off something in the whole thing and was sound asleep. Miho had a stifled laugh as she saw Mako's rather inopportune moment to take a nap.

"That's just so like Mako…"

"Reizei wake up!" Saori shouted to Mako as she jets awake.

"Bwah-? Grandma?"

"We're at England remember?"

"Oh, right."

While the two had their share of conversation. Montgomery faced to Miho, "Anyways, why don't you join everyone else looking at Bovington's collection? I'm sure it will be worth your time."

"C'mon Nishizumi-dono!" Yukari said as she latched onto Miho. "Let's go check out the museum!"

"Oh alright Yukari…" Miho said as she allows herself to be dragged away by Yukari. Soon the rest of Anglerfish and the student council followed, along with Emma, who has gotten into a friendly conversation with Yukari about the delightfulness of tanks.

All that was left in the orientation were Montgomery and St. Gloriana.

"So what do you think?" Darjeeling asked Montgomery.

He sighed. "I think they are rather naive," he said as he went over to the projector and ejected the USB drive. "Tankery is not simply a sport to some people. Some view it as their life. Honestly, I don't think they are going to go far."

"You'll be surprised about Miho Nishizumi. She learns and adapts very quickly. Perhaps her greatest strength is that her opponents know nothing about what she does."

"But that's nothing in the eyes of the International League. They look for skill. How did they Ōarai received the letter when schools that follow the Nishizumi and Shimada style existed? Though Ōarai won by luck, Kuromorimine and UST have a much better track record for international competitions."

"You think there was a mistake?" Darjeeling asked.

"Maybe… but in the end I have no authority in the I.L. If that's what they decided, then that's how it is."

"Perhaps. How are you going to arrange the match tomorrow anyways?"

"Actually, I got it planned for a while already since you told me they were coming. It's league-approved and all that already. I just needed them to agree to make it a certainty."

"You always loved to gamble, don't you Montgomery?"

"I'll take my chances, and I expect you'll be there to help them too?"

"Yes, I'll assist Ōarai… and use this opportunity to evaluate St. Gloriana's fighting style in comparison to yours. I don't plan the school to remain under you and your cadets forever."

"I respect that, and I won't stop you. Good luck." Montgomery said with a chuckle. "It'll be a 11 vs. 11 match then, elimination style. The playing field will be right here on the Bovington Training Grounds. Home turf for us cadets."

"Trying to get an edge Montgomery?"

"Whatever it takes for me to see how well stuck 'The Legend' title is to Miss Miho Nishizumi…"

INFO DUMP!

Setting the whole foundation for differences between Tankery and Sensha-Dou. Took longer than I thought because I ended up changing the script twice. Also most of that time is me looking through the Tank Museum on their web page and virtual tour. (I wanna go there...)

Anyways, we're about to have some tank fights soon! How will the Cadet 3rd RTR compare against Ōarai and St. Gloriana?! Find out next time!

Thanks for reading through my story! Feel free to Favorite and Follow if you look forward to what's next. Feel free to drop a review as well. CRITICIZE ME

*EDIT:* Apparently from supplementary materials, the MEXT guy was NOT dismissed in canon! Fixed that.