Girls Und Panzer: The World Tournament!
Chapter 15: Tanks in a Forest
East Side of S-point - Quebec, Canada
"Ms. Katyusha… The KV-2 is stuck…" A fearful tiny voice like a chipmunk spoke through the radio.
"What?!" The rash bratty voice of Katyusha cut through the radio. "Fix it immediately!"
"W-We can't!"
Miho sighed as she overheard these radio transmissions while looking at the map. Where she was on the map, it was signified with large patch of green. Unfortunately, it lacked any mention of how thickly dense these trees were, plus a lack of detail on the condition of the ground. Years of the ecosystem proceeding with the natural order had accumulated downed trees, ferns, and much more on the Earth floor. Now Sunflower had to cross through all this towards their destination.
This was the one environment that even Kuromormine had trouble with, a forest terrain. They made it look very easy when others watch it do it, but only their excessive training kept them in the condition to execute it. The tree density was too great for adequate cross-country travel, the untouched mother earth were harsh against transport as well unless there was a dirt road, and the lack of vision in the forest really impeded their overall operational capacity. Now, Ōarai and the British cadets were having their flag battle here as part of the first round in the second row of brackets of the World Tournament exhibitions.
Sunflower's objective was the the river cutting through the forest like a knife. The river flowed from the southwest portion of the map towards the center, where it bended and twisted into an S-shape before it continued carving towards the northeast. The river has a history of flooding all around its area, carrying away the earth with it. When it returned to its usual state, it left a path of nothing in its flooded areas, creating large flat riversides with little cover, presenting an exposed area to be attacked in. Aside from this center point, the river varied in terrain and elevation, the center was the only part that was almost a flat land. If Ōarai could control it, they would cut the quickest and easiest path from one side of the river to the other. It would give them a tactical advantage that would restrict enemy movement, and with that the possible areas the enemy flag could be at.
However, getting to the river was tough. From the start point to their destination, there were no direct roads to the river. The company was forced to go off-road, and the tank crews are having a terrible time traveling through nature. The KV-2 was stuck in a small crater and the other tanks were rocking around harder like an oversized shaker when it traveled the uneven ground. The only exception would be the Churchill tanks. While no doubt the crew inside were having their own troubles handling their tea; the relatively outdated coiled-spring suspension system, made with the idea of the trench warfare of World War I, proved to be able to travel such unforgiving grounds. Thus, despite being some of the slowest in Sunflower, the Black Prince and Churchill were far ahead in the crowd.
"Aisha! Mona! Stop and help KV-tan out of their problem!" Katyusha ordered her tank commanders. The commanders of the two new T-34-85 in Sunflower reported back with affirmatives. Miho could hear the two diesel engines and tracks in the forest shift direction towards the disabled KV-2, immobile a few meters towards hear front right.
"Rabbit, Duck. Move along with Sunflower without us, we'll watch the situation here." Miho said to her two other tanks in her headquarters group. Better they go do something rather than stick around with her. This far behind line, the Panzer IV flag tank was safe for now.
"Roger!" Two voices of affirmation came in as the American and Japanese tank sped off with Sunflower towards the river. Miho looked at her map again. From where they started, the whole group had moved… less than 500 meters, with more than half that to get to their destination. Sunflower was bogged down and needed to pick up the pace.
As a decaying tree log snapped under the weight and tracks of her Panzer IV, Miho wondered if everyone else was doing well.
North-East Side of S-point - Quebec, Canada
Dandelion was also finding out the harshness of jungle warfare the hard way as they moved north. There were no general sense of direction gained under the trees. Kay repeatedly looked at a map and her compass, and back to her surroundings to make sure that Dandelion had the correct bearing and location. She also looked back occasionally, making sure all her tanks were accounted for and no one was lost or falling behind.
Dandelion has been boosted from its nine-vehicle unit to eleven vehicles since the last match. Chi-Ha-Tan still had five vehicles with one Ha-Go, two Chi-Has, and two Chi-Ha "Kai"s. Saunders' forces had been upgraded with the three M4A3E2 Jumbos that Kay brought with their 75 mm guns. The three assault tanks of Saunders were supplemented with their usual equipment: a regular M4 Sherman, a 76 mm M4A1, and a Firefly. Due to their mobile usage in this match, Leopon had been moved to Sunflower to boost their firepower, otherwise Dandelion would have twelve tanks.
The company had to travel in a single line on the lone dirt path leading them to their destination. Kay was leading the group in a M4A3E2, with the two other Jumbos behind, then Naomi's Firefly, Alisa's 76 mm M4A1, the M4 Sherman, then the Chi-Ha-Tan team in the rear guard. The dirt path was thin and unfavorable for motor travel, forcing the tank commanders to peer above to watch the path as their driver carefully throttles the tank along, with the risk of toppling over the sides into a steep valley of trees or ram into a dirt mound.
"God damn forests!" Alisa screamed for the third time as Kay heard a heavy shake of a tree when the full weight of the Sherman's and its horsepower smacks into it. The forest had not been kind to the tank and its crew. It beated the tanks, especially those with long extending cannon barrels like the 76 mm and 17-pounder by snagging them in the foliage. The commanders must react quickly before the strength of the trees and bushes prove to be too much for the turret ring. Not only that, the dirt road was uneven and rocked each tank as they roll over the different bumps and pits, leading to great physical discomfort of the crew. Reports are coming in of commanders hitting their heads on the cupola, so Kay wore her helmet, despite it muffling her flowing hair.
"All units, status report," Miho's voice came through the radio.
Kay picked it up, "Dandelion here. It's rather cramped here, Miho. We haven't even made it to the north river yet."
She then listened to all the reports coming in. "This is Sunflower. Most of our tanks are progressing towards the center point. However, Pravda has fallen behind. The KV-2 bogged down."
"Jasmine here! So far A-okay! We're almost at the southern position!"
Kay only looked at the map with a dismal face. "Gosh darn it, coordination is going to be a pain if we don't get our act together in this environment."
A thunder rolled in the sky as Kay looked up at the grey clouds that had gathered. "Miho, I hope you know what you're doing…"
South Side of S-point - Quebec, Canada
Jasmine team was climbing up the southern hills. At their position, they were much taller than a good portion of the forest already. It helps that a majority of their vehicles were rather reliable and light, their travel uphill on the dirt roads was with little difficulty.
Anzu looked over the Hetzer's hatch, observing the path. With the height and narrow dirt road, there was a real possibility of falling off towards the ground below. All the tank commanders in Jasmine were taking extra care that an awful fate does not befell on to them.
Still, they had a great height advantage with a good view across most of the forest. Though a large portion can be easily obscured under the dense trees, the key of the map, the river, was in full view to them. The entire southern and center portion could be put under their guns once they ranged the shots. This makes their position a strong overwatch area to provide cover fire for Sunflower and prevent any flankers on the southern part of the map.
The only issue is if a unit crossed the river before Jasmine even got there, but given that Jasmine was moving faster than any of the other two Ōarai companies, it was safe to assume they were around the same speed as the British, if not faster.
As Jasmine took another turn around the hill they are climbing, light flashed in the skies and the thunderous sound cracked through the air. Anzu takes another bite out of her sweet potato chips while looking at the darkened sky. It was heavy, with little sunlight crossing through the clouds onto the land. The light level was still moderate enough for vision, but the weather was worrisome. As the Char B1 and KV-1 took lead and clacked upwards on the hill, the atmosphere started to look more and more miserable.
"I have a bad feeling about this…" Anchovy said through the radio from her P40, which were in the Jasmine column behind the two heavy tanks.
"No kidding, duce," Pepperoni piped up, her voice rather diminutive compared to her usual chipper self. She was also looking up at the sky with some worry.
"Take it easy, girls," Anzu said, in a relaxed tone compared to the two Anzio girls. "Once we get up, we dig in and hold our positions. There are only limited roads upwards, so I want the tanks to cover our flanks, tank destroyers get into positions to provide cover fire." She gave out their general plan. Anzu isn't a Sensha-Dou master like the Nishizumi or the other school captains, but she's learned a great deal from the last year of Sensha-Dou.
Jasmine crossed another turn and got a view of the river once more. "Alright, this looks like a good place," Anzu said to the group. There were enough space to maneuver for the tank destroyers and their guns could depress low enough to reach towards the S-point.
As the Hetzer looked at this, the StuG III of Hippo team came up and analyzed the location. "A valley of tears…," Caesar's voice said, "This place is perfect." They took the position up with much glee. Carpaccio's Semovente followed suit. As the three self-propelled guns stationed themselves, the tanks moved ahead to the other side of the hill to block the roads, or take up another position.
"Pepperoni, Mika, we're going to need you two to maintain a scout reconnaissance to make sure no one tries to get a pounce on us!"
"Roger that," Mika replied back.
"Affirmative! Going long!" Pepperoni shouted through. The two smaller light tanks moved out, bypassing the slower medium and heavy tanks.
Anzu took out a binocular and analyzed the situation from above. The Hetzer has a perfect view towards the S-point, with the British blatantly towards their left and her team on the right. The far north was debatable, but it was unlikely that her company's guns were able to hit that far anyways. Confident, she got onto the radio. "Miho, this is Jasmine. We're ready and standing by for action!"
East Side of S-point - Quebec, Canada
"That's great! Hold position and engage anyone trying to cross the river!" Miho replied to Anzu's transmission. "We're almost through the thickest of the forest, so you should see Sunflower on the right end soon enough!"
"Roger that! We'll try not to mess with you girls!"
Miho hangs up the radio as she watched the two T-34-85 continue to struggle with the KV-2. Everyone else had moved on ahead, but she and these two tanks were tending to a logistical burden. The KV-2, while surely intimidating with its 152 mm howitzer, was quite an impractical weapon in this environment. The dense forest restricted the awesome power of the 152 mm shells, while also reducing the range the rounds can be lobbed at, as you can't hit a target you can't see. Yet, Katyusha's adoration of the tall KV-2 has kept them held up trying to get the metal beast out of its predicament.
Miho came along with her Panzer IV. If there's anything that can get a heavy tank out of a stuck position is more horsepower. "Is there anything I can help with?" Miho said out of her cupola.
"Yeah!" One of the crew member of the T-34-85s said over the engine noises present. "Hook up in a line with our tanks. We'll tow it out of its-"
She barely finished before explosions were sounding in the distance, following with crashes and splintering as trees were hit and the ground was torn up.
"We've got engagement!" Saori inside the Panzer IV shouted as she relayed her radio transmissions to Miho. "Sunflower's got the first shot off on a Comet, they said! Now all hell's broken loose!"
"Tell them all to hold fast and get ready for a frontal engagement!"
North-East Side of S-point - Quebec, Canada
"News up girls! Sunflower's got contact with the enemy force!" Kay said into her intercom and radio.
"Copy that!" The replies came in acknowledging the change in situation. There were no certainty on what sort of enemy concentrations were at the S-point. However, as the flanking force, Dandelion still got a while to go before they could move on to exploitation.
The trees cleared up ahead and the river was in their sight, with the road cutting through large dirt mounds forming a barrier against off-road travel towards the river. The riverside's rock and dirt path looked firm enough for the Jumbos to travel over, but the water depth was something else.
"All tanks halt," Kay said as the tank column came to a stop, still in the covers of the forest. Kay climbed out of the cupola, "Loader, with me."
The small oval hatch by the main cupola opened as the loader of her Jumbo came along with her. They brought along their firearms as well, a Thompson for Kay while the loader had a M1A1 carbine with her. Not that they needed it, but it was something that gave them a sense of security. The two girls approached the river, looking at the running water. It was clear and they could see the bottom.
"Looks good, don't you think?" Kay asked her loader, Maddy, a second-year student.
"Looks safe to cross, captain. Even for Chi-Ha-Tan."
"Alright, let's go back," Kay said before they turned back towards the column. Kay was also methodically looking around the area for any possible ambushes, people watching for them to cross. If there were any, they've concealed themselves in the forest. Distance fighting was going to be a pain if that was the case. Nothing much could be seen as she climbed back onto her Jumbo. "Alright girls, let's push forwards," Kay said in her intercom. "All tanks move forwards. Space out, 10 meters between."
"Roger that!"
Kay's M4A3E2 Jumbo moved forwards, the suspension aching under the heavier weight of the tank. The rocks on the riverside crunched under the rubber-padded tracks and the full weight of the assault tanks. Moving forwards nervously, Kay looked around once more for possible enemies. The Jumbo did a plunge into the river, before leveling around the suspension level, about a three feet depth. The acceleration stalled as the viscosity of the water impeded the tank's overall speed.
That's when a sound like lightning and thunder mixed together screamed in the air.
A round smashed into the river just behind Kay's Jumbo, the velocity force caused the round to ram into the water, impact the surface underneath, and ricochet off into a tree down the river, blasting the timber into shrapnel.
"Contact!" Kay screamed out into the radio, but the whole column was already in alert. Her team scrambled about in the chaos, the four tanks behind Kay, exposed in the open river side, tried to make sense on where the rounds were coming from. Another round came in, skimming the top of Kay's Jumbo on the engine deck. Kay looked back and saw the large cleave into the Jumbo's roof armor. Looks like a 17-pounder… She thought to herself, but a different message came out of her mouth "Driver, advance!" The Jumbo picked up speed as it finish crossing the river.
"Enemies are to the west! Distance unknown!" She said before switching over to the headquarters frequency. "Miho, we've got contact on our predestined river crossing. No casualties yet! We're trying to find out where they are!"
"Roger that, Kay! Try to maneuver against them! Out!" Miho ordered.
Her Jumbo reached the other side of the river, cresting the shore onto land and continued forward into the cover of foliage. Kay looked back and saw her company still trying to respond. A shot came in onto the Jumbo tank that was now in the column lead. The round impacted the left side hull. Though the Jumbo side hull is strengthened to a good 3 inch of armor, that did little against a flat-on high-velocity round. The Jumbo sputtered and a white flag popped out. The impact showed the rest of the column where the fire was coming from, and the remaining exposed three tanks on the riverside shifted their frontal hull armor towards their left, the west direction.
Shit, with this river in between us, it's going to be hard getting tanks across without unacceptable casualties… Kay thought to herself. Dandelion was stuck in a predicament that stalled their movement, and that cannot be allowed in this match. Time for some drastic measures… "Alright, listen up, try to keep the attention of whoever's shooting us…" a task not too hard as another shell soon came about and hit the gravel on the river, sending splinters of rock fragments into the air. "...and I'll try to out maneuver them from here."
"Alone?!" Alisa screamed into the radio as she realized the overall situation.
"It's too dangerous to cross without getting taken out by that AT gun! I'll try to get them from a blind spot! That's an order, out!" Kay finished by hanging up the radio and talked into her intercom. "Driver, advance!"
The Jumbo continued up a dirt road as she heard the Shermans and Jumbos behind her open fire in the distance. Another shot whizzed in the air as it hit metal, a loud and stunning CLANG sounded as the round either deflected or smacked right into the armor without any effect. Whatever it was, Kay couldn't tell from her position and she had other priorities in mind. Her Jumbo rumbled on…
East Side of S-point - Quebec, Canada
Another shot clanged off the Black Prince's turret. Darjeeling listened to the sounds as the rounds came in, causing the crew to flinch but she analyzed the way the shells' arrival speed and the impact it made on the steel turret. There were two types of shells coming in, 75 mm and the 17-pounder. Assam and Orange Pekoe are busy loading and firing the Black Prince's 17-pounder as they aimed across the distance for muzzle flashes. Only one or two sporadically appear, leaving little hints for Assam to trace on before that spot's flashes disappear and another appears elsewhere.
Darjeeling sipped her tea, green tea, as she looked out her cupola periscopes. She wasn't sure on what Montgomery was planning. Was this just a diversionary force like Sunflower and the real deal was somewhere on the north or south? Or was he throwing everything at them for the decimation of Ōarai's forces? It was too early to decide what the enemy was planning, but so far on the optimistic side, everything was going according to plan.
Rukuriri's Churchill fires off its 75 mm as it soared across in a trajectory across the river. The two sides were trading shots, as the large open area of the river was inviting concentrated fire. With Jasmine stationed, if calculated correctly, Ōarai has control over the crossings. If an enemy Churchill was to attempt a traveling, it would be impacted by 75 mm shots to the side, wrecking the suspension even if not penetrating the still thick side armor.
A rumble passed through Darjeeling's rear. The energetic volleyball team were taking pot shots with their 57 mm cannon on their Type 89 as they sped through the forest in laps. While it is doubtful they would have any effect on any target down range, being shot at is still considered a significant emotional event. The second-year Ōarai students in the M3 Lee were also supplementing the firepower with their twin armament. The two didn't have anything against Leopon team's Tiger (P) though, the heavy tank with its 88 mm cannon was a nice addition to Sunflower since the last match.
"We're not going to make any breakthroughs here at this rate," Orange Pekoe nonchalantly comments as she picks up a 17-pounder shell for the fired gun. Pekoe noted that she had become accustomed to the heavy round now, it no longer felt as different as loading a 75 mm round back in the old Churchill.
"That's why we leave it to the others to attack them from their flanks." Darjeeling says. "We just have to keep them on their side of the river while they do so."
North-East Side of S-point - Quebec, Canada
Naomi tried to line-up her Firefly's sights on the distance, taking cover behind a Jumbo as it took another hit for her tank. She was behind the Jumbos when they rolled out and was among the exposed when the anti-tank fire started coming in. The Jumbos had angled themselves toward the direction of fire. Naomi's Firefly, unable to withstand that much punishment, used their bodies as shields while extending as little of her turret out as possible towards the enemy. The muzzle flashes were well hidden deep in the forest trees, and the moist environment has prevented dusts clouds from forming with each blast that would've given away their location.
"Damn! I can't get a bead!" She grunts out loudly while keeping her eyes through the gun's sight. As if to spite her, another shot came flying towards the Jumbo and hit the gun mantlet, ricocheting off and hitting Naomi's Firefly turret's roof before skimming away into the distance. Despite the vibration, she kept her eyes through the sight and still saw nothing.
"W-What are you all doing?!" Alisa suddenly was shouting in a louder-than-usual manner on her radio. She was right behind Naomi in the column before the engagement, with a M4 Sherman behindthe two. There was a distinctive sound of diesel engines in her radio background.
"What's going on?" Naomi asked as her cupola observer hands her the radio receiver.
"Chi- Chi-Ha-Tan is...!"
"Charge!" Naomi could hear their battle-cry through the radio, her headset, and the sound of battle happening outside.
"What the hell?" Naomi heard her cupola observer say.
"What's going on out there?!"
"It's Chi-Ha-Tan! They're charging pass us!"
Old habits die hard and the five Chi-Ha-Tan tanks rushed forward past the stuck Saunder tanks. They had bypassed the constrained tanks by traveling off-road, a tactic unable to be done by the Shermans because of various motor performances. However, Chi-Ha-Tan tanks were all a lot lighter, giving them the flotation to travel over the bad terrain pass the blocked path.
Nishi's Chi-Ha was the first to crest the dirt mounds on the sides of the dirt road, with the rest of her small team following her. Saunders were stunned by this reckless display as they traveled past them on gravel riverside towards the river. It seemed even the enemy were astonished as their consistent fire rate had dropped sharply since Chi-Ha-Tan appeared.
The five tanks crashed into the river with a loud SPLASH! Their momentum dropped as the water resistance did its deed. That's when the enemy decided to fire again as a shot streaks through the air and impacted the water.
"Covering fire!" Naomi yelled out, firing her Firefly's 17-pounder at the general direction of the enemy, which was answered by two more. So there were more than one gun? Naomi noted as the rate of fire seemed too high for a single gun to be firing. The two Jumbos with her fired their 75 mm shells. In the distance, Naomi noted they fired high-explosive shells as orange flashes appeared and dirt flew into the air. Not effective in penetrating enemy armor, but it would freak out anyone on the other end.
The five Chi-Ha-Tan tanks nearly crossed in one piece, the incoming fire took out a Chi-Ha Kai in the middle, but the rest had maximized the surprise and crossed safely, their tracks rattling on the gravel as they travel down the road Kay went through.
"Those lucky bastards!" Alisa chastised. "Just what are those idiots thinking?!"
"They're not, obviously," Naomi commented, "but at least Kay will have company."
South Side of S-point - Quebec, Canada
Anzu chomped away at another dried sweet potato in a reclined position as the three self-propelled guns wait for an opening. From the distance, their optics can make out the firefight happening at S-point between the two sides of the river clearing. However, they couldn't get a bead on any of the British tanks on the west side, which frustrates Momo to no end.
"We're not firing! Why aren't we firing?!"
"Well, Momo, it's hard to shoot something we can't see…" Yuzu replied.
"I can see their muzzle flashes! Just shoot that!"
"It's alright girls, we just have to make sure no British units are crossing through the south side. If they don't have to worry about this flank, it's one less trouble for everyone else." Anzu says while chewing a chip with half of its end sticking out of her mouth. She picked up her radio. "Recon, any news?"
"Pepperoni here!" Pepperoni says as her tankette speeds through the forest. Finally, her tankette is being put to good use, traveling across small paths that would make most tankers cry. Each bump, hard turn, and jump was taken as an invitation of Pepperoni. It reminded her of the time she, Carpaccio, and Duce went on a roller coaster in one of the amusement parks in Japan. Of course, she was fine with it, but Duce ended up throwing up in the end… "Nothing to report here! Everything normal!"
"Good, make sure no one tries crossing the river on the farthest borders of the map."
"Roger that!" Pepperoni screamed joyously as her L3/33 makes a jump into the air, a good 3 feet before landing with a crunch on the ground. "Yahoo!"
Pepperoni got a good look around once the tankette slowed down. "Huh?" That's when she noticed that she wasn't in the forest anymore. She looked around the open clearing, the ground was all gravel and with disturbed dirt all around. A loud flowing of water sounded to her left, splashing with unspeakable force as nature drives it through the dirt.
"Oh," Pepperoni comments on her situation on finding herself by the edge of the river she was suppose to observe. As she realized it, the sky rolled with thunder once more.
"What's that idiot doing there?" Mikko said from the driver position of the BT-42. The crew have set up position where they could see a majority of the south-west side of the river.
"Should we help them?" Aki said softly, but her voice echoed inside the rumbling BT-42 turret, right next to Mika's kantele as she played a melody to pass the time.
"Who's the bigger fool, the fool or the one that follow him?" Mika randomly says to the crew.
"Now isn't really the time to be quoting movies…" Aki sighed as she tried to make sense of her commander's thought process. Then again, everyone in Continuation always thought Mika was a loose screw. She just happened to be a screw that's keeping the whole team together.
The three observed the tankette commander and driver trying to make sense of their situation. The one with pigtails got out and was wandering by the riverside. Mikko curiously wondered how that commander would act if enemy vehicles were to suddenly appear on the other end, the thought of it amused her. The commander peered over the river like a cliff, looking down at the bottom, right before walking farther along the riverside. After making quite a distance from the tankette, she was running back and made a successfully vaulted back into the open top hatch of her tankette.
"Oi! This is Recon!" The radio came alive with the Anzio girl's voice.
"What is it?" Ōarai's student president replied to the disturbance.
"I'm at the river at the south-west side! This place is a no-go!" That comment stirred up the Continuation members as they suddenly take attention to the transmissions.
"What do you mean?"
"The river's too deep for any tank to cross through!"
Aki looked at her commander who had stopped playing her kantele to listen in. "Looks like we've been looking at a dead-end."
"The best plan never survives five minutes into combat…" Mika said, right before picking up her kantele again and began plucking the strings. "Let's look at the other parts of the river our little friend hasn't."
Mikko grinned a smile as she grabbed the BT's drive sticks. Revving up the engine, they prepared for another trip through the forest.
North-East Side of S-point - Quebec, Canada
"Cap'n Kay!" A cry shouted from behind Kay before she heard the engines. She was shocked to see four Japanese tanks right behind her.
"Nishi? Why are you here?!" Kay shouted across the tanks towards Nishi
"Well, we can't just leave our leader to fend for herself!"
"How'd you get pass the column and the fire?!"
"We just charged through!"
"Of course you did! How many did you lose?!"
"Just one!"
Oh, sure,"just one". Kay could never grasp around the Chi-Ha-Tan's style of Sensha-Dou.
"We'll assist you in attacking the anti-tank location!"
"Fine by me!" Kay rolled along with it. "Just don't get us all killed!"
"Roger!" Nishi said before she started talking into her own radio. Kay then watched the Japanese tanks then go off-road to her M4A3E2's left and into the jungle, their tank tracks and hull clattering along the uneven ground.
"Not sure if ballsy… or just really unfamiliar with jungle warfare…" Kay murmured to herself as she watched them disappear out of sight into the wilderness. "Driver, continue forward."
East Side of S-point - Quebec, Canada
"So there's no possible crossings at the south?" Miho answered to her radio.
"Yep. Recon said the river down there is too deep. No tank's going to be crossing that side of the map," Anzu relayed Pepperoni's findings.
Miho looked at her map closely. The river down there did look a bit bigger around that area… "Very well. Divert your attention closer to the center, but keep a few eyes down there for any stragglers trying to find a shallow end!"
"Will do! Out!"
Miho put down the radio as she turned her attention to the scenario behind her. "Are you girls ready?"
"Yep!" Yukari shouted from outside the Panzer IV near the downed KV-2. The Panzer IV and the two T-34-85 were hooked up to the KV-2, still stuck in a small dirt crater. If the math was correct, the three vehicles running together should give the tow cable a force of almost 80 horsepower per ton, hopefully enough to get the heavy tank out of its predicament.
A round whizzed loudly overhead, part of the fighting at S-point. It rustled the tree leaves as it passed the girls, sending bristles of needle-leaves down onto the Panzer IV as Miho signaled to the other Pravda commanders in their T-34-85 cupola. They both gave an "OK" sign with their hands.
"Mako, drive forwards please!" Miho said through the intercom.
"Right," Mako throttled the Panzer IV forwards, with it she could feel the other T-34's moving behind her as well through the vibration on the attached tow cables.
Then the Panzer IV came to a halt as all the forces involved cancelled out the Panzer IV's forward movement. "Mako, make sure the transmission isn't too strained."
"Right."
A few seconds later, the Panzer IV seemed to be inching forwards. Miho looked back, the tanks were moving as their towed result followed right behind. The KV-2 has gotten enough power and climbed out of its stuck position. To ensure it didn't just fall back in, the tanks continued pulling the KV-2 out a good distance before they came to a stop.
"Alright, that went well!" Miho said happily, a job well done. Yukari ran up towards Miho from the KV-2.
"It's out! They'll just disconnect the cable and then we're all good to go!"
"Thanks for helping with the operation, Yukari!"
"Aw, Nishizumi-dono… It's no biggie," Yukari said, blushing as she climbed over the Panzer IV's turret schürzen armor into the side hatch back to her loader seat.
"Okay…" Miho got the radio receiver. "Sunflower, this is HQ. KV-2 is cleared. We're moving up now."
North-East Side of S-point - Quebec, Canada
Nishi juggled about in her Type 97 Chi-Ha as the tank jostled over trees, rocks, and the different bumps of the forest floor. She made a silent prayer of gratitude to the designer who thought of adding the asbestos pads all over the hull of the tank, it cushioned her impacts when she gets rocked into the tank.
Nishi thought curiously on how jungle warfare differed from many other operations her school had done in the past. How the others seem very warily on the idea of it while she was exploiting it in ways that surprised even Saunders. It did not dawn on her that the small Chi-Ha-Tan tanks were the only reason she could move as she is now.
As she navigated through the dense wood with her platoon, she heard a piercing crack in the air as a sound wave blasted from a direction.
"Towards our 10 o'clock, let us make haste!" Nishi said into her radio as the platoon shifted direction.
Still on the dirt road, Kay heard their tanks rev up and change direction. She looked at her map for any possible destination. A cliff, on one side of a river bend, it overlooked most of the northern end of the river, a possible place for enemy ambushers to be present.
"Kay, this is Naomi, how's thing looking up?"
Kay took the radio, "I've met up with our Chi-Ha-Tan friends here. I think we've got a bead on the enemy attack position. Be prepared to cross once we get their attention."
"Roger that!"
Kay looked back at the map. "Okay, driver, turn left here. Try to stay on stable ground."
"Roger that!" The M4A3E2 lurched over the dirt road into a clearing in the woods. Kay could feel the undisturbed dirt squelch and smuch as the assault tank's tracks run over it. The tank rocked back and forth as it moved around the different bends and hill of the forest.
Another shot came out from the woods. The anti-tank position was now just a distance away.
Nishi heard the sound blast even closer as her four tanks crested a hill. They got onto the top just in time to see a stunning muzzle blast being flashed out from the ground. The vehicle it came from seemed to be hugging the ground, like a Japanese beetle. The gunner of her Chi-Ha didn't hesitate to let out a shot from the 57 mm, the shot not hitting anywhere near the muzzle flash area.
Like a disturbed ant hill, the whole ground was suddenly in motion, shouting broke the tranquility of nature. Nishi could see engine exhaust build up as the enemy vehicle power up and they move. She then saw their guns, long rods with a ball muzzle brake on the end. The placement of the gun seemed merged onto the hull shape, but now they started to elevate as the vehicles turned towards her location.
"Driver, forward!" Nishi yelled almost impulsively upon seeing this. Time seemed to slow since her appearance on the hill to the firing to the enemy's reaction. An encounter between four tanks against an unknown amount hidden away. As her Chi-Ha moved forward, the others just got the message and tried to follow as well. A fellow Chi-Ha reacting too late took a shell to the hull, almost flipping it off the hill from the force.
The three Chi-Ha-Tan tanks charged in. Nishi moved towards the vehicle that she saw first, closest to the hill. The gunner drastically hand-cranked the turret traverse as Nishi loaded another 57 round into the gun. "Up!" Nishi yelled after sending in a 57 mm with her arm.
"Firing!" The gunner yelled out before Nishi got back up the cupola. In a flash instance she saw the metal hulk of the enemy hidden in the brush before the Chi-Ha's gun blasted it. The 57 mm, despite its low velocity, smashes with authority on the enemy's side.
That was when she heard cries. A group of people jostled inside the hit vehicle. An open-cabin vehicle, with the crew exposed to the elements and harm. The vibration had shocked and rocked them inside their gun carriage. A small white flag soon appeared on the vehicle, a show of defeat.
Fukuda, in her Type 95 Ha-Go light tank, sped past her commander's altercation, right before ramming into what she thought at first was the ground. Readjusting her glasses, she found herself face-to-face with a person peering outside their vehicle's superstructure. A few shouting and commands were thrown about in the confusion. She heard someone yelling "Turn left!" and the vehicle she crashed upon started forcing the Ha-Go out of its radius.
Fukuda panicked as she fell back down into her one-man turret. She single-handedly operated the 37 mm gun, traversing the turret left as fast as possible. Her arms started to burn from rotating the lever, but she got her eyes into the sight. A short glimpse was all she got before she pressed the trigger, letting loose a round into the vehicle. A crash, and a fizzle, before a spring-loaded hatch cracked open with a white flag. From inside her Ha-Go while loading another 37 mm round, she could hear colorful curses from the enemy vehicle.
Fukuda got back out on her cupola to see the situation. The vehicle was a strange one, even if it was restricted in Sensha-Dou. It reminded her of Kuromormine's Elefant tank destroyer, with the crew location on the rear of the vehicle. The gun extended over the tank destroyer's body, fixed to an angle without a turret. Though, the crew is more exposed with the open roof, allowing for some more expressive communication with anyone outside their vehicle.
As she got a look on one of the crew members, she wanted to say something. "Uh, sorry…?" in a volume that no one but her would hear.
The man looked with some surprise too as he raised something quickly. A crack and whistling noise followed, suddenly that noise became rapid, tearing through the current confrontation for Fukuda. She heard something, things, impact her open cupola hatch with a TWANG, prompting her to dive straight back down into the turret.
"Ack, what was that?!" Fukuda tried asking, only to be interrupted by a rapid RA-TA-TA-TA from inside her tank, followed by sounds of brass casings.
"Fukuda, are you okay?!" Her driver said towards her.
"Yeah! I'm fine, what happened?!"
"One of the Englishmen tried shooting you! We shot him down!" The driver said as she adjusted the gear and engine, sending the Ha-Go in reverse. Fukuda then noticed that her Ha-Go was still being peppered by small clanging noises, to which Fukuda recognized as bullets ricocheting off the armor.
Fukuda peered through the tiny cupola periscopes as bullets flied around her. The co-driver was busy reloading her spent Type 97 machine gun. Instead of worrying about the vehicle in front of her with its rowdy crew, she looked around the area. The Chi-Ha Kai had taken out another one of those vehicle, leading to three downed enemy units.
The M4A3E2 slugged over the hill and Kay saw the spectacle before her.
"Well, well, Chi-Ha-Tan's got some more kills on their score board…" Kay said of the scene in front of her. Aside from a M3 Stuart and a few M26 Pershings to their name, Chi-Ha-Tan can now proudly add a few Archer tank destroyers to their name as well. Suddenly, she found a few bullets hitting her tank coming from below the hill. From an Archer with a flag up, but with a persistent crew.
"Was there a rule saying that the crew of downed tanks were 'out' too?" Kay asked her crew first, wondering if she should declare this a rule-breaking incident.
"I don't think so…" Her crew commented along that line.
Kay looked in front of her as some more bullets pumped out of fruitless effort hit her turret. "Gunner, switch to coaxial."
"Roger," her gunner's voice had no sense of surprise as she pressed down on the alternate firing button by her feet, the M1919 machine gun by the loader started spraying out brass casing with each fired round Thud-Thud-Thud.
Kay reached for her radio. "Naomi, Alisa, in case you didn't hear the firing, it just happened. You'd better cross that river now!"
East Side of S-point - Quebec, Canada
"KV-tan's here!" Katyusha's cry of glee seemed to be a rallying call to the present Pravda members as she cheered "Oorah!"
As the fighting continued in front, Miho was at a distance from the fighting. The Panzer IV hid behind a boulder large enough to cover it from enemy shells while she got out of the tank, a radio in hand, and viewed the battle away from the cover of her tank.
"Miho, this is dangerous…" Yukari said, accompanying Miho outside.
"After all those Sensha-Dou and Tankery matches, now I'm in danger?" Miho replied, but she almost laughed. "It's okay, Yukari. It's just like when I stick out from the cupola. There's always danger of us being hit."
"Well, there's a difference being out here… and being in the Panzer."
"I'll be fine, Yukari." Miho went back to looking through her binocular. She could see the far end of the river and see some bits of Montgomery's team fighting it out with Sunflower.
It looked liked how it was in their match against Merlion. The composition of the group in front of them had a mixture of Comets and Churchill tanks. She had no idea why Montgomery had grouped cruiser and infantry tanks together, it nullified the speed advantage of the Comet and the overall armor quality of the Churchill. That saying, it's not like the Comet was a bad universal tank, maybe to give the group some flexibility?
The Churchills were able to survive Sunflower's firepower by their impressive frontal armor, even the Tiger's 88 couldn't penetrate it. The IS-2 can if it can hit it, but so far no luck. The Comets lasted this long as well by using their mobility. With all the firing and the shrubbery in front, tracking the moving, appearing, disappearing tanks made for hard targets to destroy. Their accuracy suffered from their constant repositioning, but as long as they had ammo and weren't hit, they were still in the match.
"Hey look, Miho! Looks like the KV's about to do its thing!" Yukari pointed towards the KV-2 leaving its concealment of trees.
Miho turned a bit of her curiosity towards the KV-2. She's been on the firing lane of that monstrous howitzer a few times, but she never knew what it was like watching it from an attacker's point of view.
The KV-2, a 50-ton heavy tank with a 152 mm howitzer on its turret. The tank was so heavily armored that during the German's invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, they had no dedicated anti-tank equipment able to take down the KV-2. The KV-2, with a gun and turret so heavy that it could not traverse it on an uneven ground, spelled destruction to any unfortunate tank or bunker caught under its howitzer.
The KV-2's barrel stared its nose down across the creek. It had missed opportunities to do any sort of damage, but it hungered for blood and oil. It's been through three matches just from the last year since the nationals. It had failed to damage any of Ōarai's tank, twice in fact, and it failed to impact University Strength Team as well. This time, it was to be released.
The small stubble of a cannon barrel raised slightly as Yukari found it within her survival instinct to cover her ears. An invisible countdown meter sounded, a countdown to armageddon, the bell of victory. 5...4...3...2...1…
The KV-2 reversed back into its cover. "Misfire!" a report came through the radio by Miho and Yukari.
Miho simply sighed as she went back to her binoculars, but Yukari suddenly felt an itch that just really needed to be scratched.
South-west Side of S-point - Quebec, Canada
A group of Sherman III went through the muddy path towards their location. Eight Shermans in all were line up one-by-one, following each other as they navigate through the forest. The lack of a dedicated cupola on these early Sherman models restricted the commander's vision when they were buttoned-up, so Harvey now looked over the commander's split-hatch as he directed the driver to correct turns and alignment to make sure his tank did not topple over or anything.
In terms of his reassignment, the Sherman III was a big improvement over his old Cromwell. Sure, it wasn't as fast as a Cromwell, but the ergonomics were much, much easier to work around. His crew has been singing nothing but praises for it, and so far that's been a universal trait for any Cromwell crews switching to any other better tanks available. Unless it was the Valiant, no one sang any praises around that blasted piece of junk.
The Sherman III was a bit of a logistical oddball in terms of the cadet's equipment. The other tanks were all petrol-powered, but the Sherman III was diesel-powered, and had two engines in the back. A downside from a decision almost seven decades ago with the U.S. Lend-Lease program. The British military had acquired a whole bunch of M4 tanks, but noticeable oddities like the M4A2 and the M4A4 made up their numbers as well. The M4A2, or as they call it the "Sherman III", helped make up a good portion of Britain's armored forces in Europe and at home, especially in specialized designs like mine rollers.
Still, its prevalence at the British isles affected its commonality today when Tankery production started. Whoever was running the production lines did not know the difference between all the Sherman variants. They simply picked up a Sherman available, the M4A2, and copied and produced it. A few years of production of a strange diesel model that nobody really wanted led to a large surplus market for the M4A2. The British cadets, just getting into the whole Tankery business in the 70s, bought up the cheap M4A2 models up for sale and so it ended up that the 3rd RTR cadets still had quite a large amount to this day. Harvey's certain that if he was to lookup the serial number of the tank he's in now, it would say it was made during the heights of the Cold War.
If that's the case though, its age was not showing. The Sherman III was being handled by the driver like a beauty. Minimal jerking and wear on the transmission and tracks, some stuff that they had to worry about in the Cromwell tank.
The train of thought was ruined when he came to a clearing different from the green and brown of the forest. In front was grey and blue, they reached the river.
"All tanks, halt." Harvey said through his radio as his driver slowly braked the Sherman into a stop. With the Sherman stopping, his loader decided to open up an insulated bottle.
"Is that…?"
"For bloody sakes, Ben, can't you get off my case?"
"I'm telling you, you've got a drinking problem!"
"I can drink whatever the damn hell I want!"
"Shut up, both of you!" Harvey butted in between his two turret mates' long feud. "I've got enough to deal with here…" He muttered to himself as he looked at the edge.
It was a clearing in the woods straight towards the river, a single path surrounded by unsurmountable hills with trees. One way into the riverside, one way out. A perfect chokepoint if they were being watched.
"Tell you what; Mac, enjoy your drink. Ben, with me. Let's go." Harvey said as he climbed out of the Sherman's turret while grabbing his personal firearm, a STEN Mk. III submachine gun, that along with his other equipment as a group commander. Ben, the gunner, also had a STEN as he climbed out. Harvey calmly walked out onto the riverside, the gravel crunching under his boots. The river flowed with tranquil power, there was a statement of mother nature's effect on the earth that just couldn't be grasped by the human tongue. While Ben was busy analyzing the scenario around them, Harvey spent his attention on the week.
"Are you done sight seeing?" Ben asked up close to Harvey, somewhat paranoid of any enemy lying in wait.
"The river's pretty deep."
"I can see that. The bottom looks like a good, what? 15 meters?"
"Yep, I'd say." Harvey acknowledged Ben's deduction. Looked about right.
"A bit flowing too, think the engine'll be able to handle it?"
Harvey took in a breath, a sniff of fresh air away from the diesel exhaust he's been dealing with the last 20 minutes. "One way to find out."
Harvey turned around on his way back while Ben made a small jog for it. The grinding of rocks turned to squelch of moist dirt as Harvey approached his Sherman III. He climbed up onto the turret. "Alright boys, mount canvas!"
Engines die and commotions arise as all the members of the Sherman III group got out of their tanks for the preparations to ford the river.
North-East Side of S-point - Quebec, Canada
Sunflower was grouping up. The rest had crossed the river and were meeting up with Kay up the road.
The elimination of the four Archer units went through with little trouble once they were discovered. Chi-Ha-Tan got three of them while Kay got the last one hanging back taking potshots at them. The crew were ferocious as well, trying to gun down the exposed girls on the turret. A few rounds of machine gun from the tanks soon pacified them.
Nishi's Type 97 Chi-Ha rolled up against Kay's.
"Nice work, Nishi," Kay said to the ditz.
Nishi did a small salute, "Always a pleasure!"
She heard the rumbles of gasoline engines coming up the dirt road she came through. "That must be them. Let's go, Nishi!"
"Right!"
The four tanks still operational from the encounter were now returning to the road. Kay will take the lead once more and they'll continue into the forest to encircle the center point, where Sunflower was dealing with the most resistance.
Now that she thought of the whole picture, Kay figured she should update Miho about her situation. "Hey, Miho, this is Dandelion."
A few seconds passed, "Dandelion, this is HQ. What's up?"
"We engaged and eliminated the enemy targeting us at the river. We'll be continuing west now!"
"Excellent, keep it up!"
Kay heard Miho's voice just as soon as she reached the clearing she used to go off-road. Upon seeing it, she could see Naomi's Sherman Firefly coming up the road from the right, where the river was. As she did, she soon saw something glint to her left, and look left.
...wait…
Another Firefly?
Kay found herself reaching the open road, a Firefly on the right, a Firefly on the left. All their guns pointed towards the center that small, tiny intersection.
West Side of S-point - Quebec, Canada
Montgomery watched on top of the hill in concealment as the encounter between the two sides of the river continue. The fighting between the two sides reminded him of some of the accounts he read of the fighting at the Siegfried Line in World War II. Tanks battering fortifications with little results. It looked like that from here, his Churchills and Comets were shooting at the tanks on the other side, but their shells seem to land on empty dust, while the enemy tanks also send their own with the same results.
"King, this is Duck 1. Proceeding with the crossings."
"Affirmative Duck 1. Keep up the pace. Report back once the crossing is finished. Out." Montgomery spoke through the radio. "Queen, Mercury, this is King. Status report, over."
"Mercury 1 here, we-" The transmission was interrupted with a large explosion in the background. "We're proceeding with the operation. Queen's in contact with their American forces. A third of Queen's company has been decimated."
"What part of it?"
"The Archers."
"Is the flag tank safe?"
"Affirmative. It's being taken care of by yours truly."
"Roger that, Mercury 1. Commence the operation as planned, relay me the results. Out." Montgomery said before looking at the map. Judging the reports, it seemed most of it is going well, even if it is one of the more unorthodox moves made in the cadet's history of Tankery.
"Seems about right… Okay, then." He said as he got onto the radio and dialed into a specific frequency set aside for a signal. "Galapagos 1, Galapagos 1, this is King. The golden egg has been laid. I repeat, the golden egg has been laid."
There was a moment of silence as his Comet I crew seemed to realize what he's done. "So it's time sir?" His loader asked him.
"As soon as they can move out."
The radio emitted static before a clear connection was made. "This is Galapagos 1. Confirmed message received. Moving up front."
A rumble as the familiar Meteor engine of the Cromwell and Comets roared to life not too far from Montgomery's position. The heavy tracks clacked along even on the dirt. A short while later, Montgomery could hear the sound of trees being crunched to pieces under the moving machine.
"Try to weasel your way out of this, Miho Nishizumi."
East Side of S-point - Quebec, Canada
"Dandelion is in trouble!" Yukari said to Miho.
"I know!" Miho laid out the map at hand. How much trouble was Dandelion in though? They still have nine tanks on hand. Could they all be wiped out in a span of a few minutes?
Miho's been trying to get a hold of someone from Dandelion team, but there's no answer. She gave up after the third attempt. "Rabbit, Duck; we've lost contact with Dandelion team, I want you to go check it out!"
"Okay!" Azusa replied back as Miho saw their tanks arise from the combat zone onto a road leading towards the direction.
Miho was packing up her stuff now. The changing situation showed her that it was now time to stop being an immobile command post. She picked up her equipment while Yukari grabbed the radio and made their way back to the Panzer IV.
"Something wrong, Miporin?"
"Yeah, up North. Not sure what, but Dandelion's in trouble."
"If we lose them, we'll lose a third of our fighting force." Hana bleakley analyzed the implication of the scenario.
"We've dealt with worse!" Yukari enthusiastically said, driving away the thoughts.
"Yeah…" Miho said as she hooked herself back to the Panzer IV's intercom system and stowed away her extra radio.
"-got movement on the river!" Katyusha's voice suddenly cut in as Miho connected her mic into the tank. "W-what is that thing?"
The sound of banging grew in the background, but this time, they were followed by very loud and numerous CLANG CLANG CLANG. The sound of ricochet bounced through the trees of the forest.
"Reizei, move forward a little, try to get a view of the river without exposing the Panzer too much."
"Right," Mako made a few swift motions on the running gear and the Panzer IV was back up to speed on the dirt.
They got to a position in the woods with concealment and cover low enough that Miho could look at the river. She saw something, like a beast, crawling on the other end of the riverside.
"W-what's that?" Saori said, looking through the gun sight of the MG 34.
"It's big!" Hana said, looking through the optics for the 7.5 cm KwK 40.
Miho looked at the binoculars and was soon stunned by its appearance. They had… that thing?
"Oh! So that's what they were hiding under the tarp!" Yukari hit a eureka moment, not caring that the many high-velocity rounds heading towards the beast were bouncing off, even the IS-2's 122 mm.
South Side of S-point - Quebec, Canada
"Well, this is certainly interesting!" Anzu saw through her binocular periscope and saw the large lumbering beast making its crawl across the river.
"Take a shot already! It's a legitimate target!" Momo was hitting some sort of limit on her patience waiting on the hill.
"O-kay! Let's see." Anzu effortlessly adjusted the 7.5 cm Pak 39 gun on the Hetzer. She elevated for distance and made a slight account of the wind. "We all ready to fire?"
"Ready!" The radio between the company came alive. All were taking attention to the large metal mass moving through the water. They couldn't make out what it was, but it came from the left side of the river and they knew for certain it isn't their own.
"Fire!" Anzu gave the order just as she was about to press the trigger. The 75 mm recoiled with blast and Anzu traced the outgoing round towards the river target. The other tanks fired too. About five tracer rounds smacked right into the large side armor, but despite the near perpendicular angle of fire, the round disappeared with no effect on the tank.
"Whoa… it's still moving."
"That's a tough tank!" Yuzu said, watching the tracer cannon rounds bounce off the thing.
"We won't be able to penetrate it from here?" Momo said as she loaded the gun. "Then what are we doing here?!"
"Looking for any southern forces… but that might be a bit unnecessary now, right?"
"Hey! There is someone crossing the river down South!" Janne from the KV-1 cut into the radio.
"What?" Anzu was surprised.
"Pepperoni! I thought you said it was unpassable!" Anchovy yelled.
"It was!"
"In that case, they are floating across like a swan," Mika said, observing the scene.
"Wait, what? What kind of tanks are they using?!"
East Side of S-point - Quebec, Canada
"So that's a Tortoise?" Hana asked as she looked at the rolling piece of machine on the riverside of S-point.
"A39 Tortoise to be exact!" Yukari explained.
"It's still a better name than 'Maus'!" Saori piped into the conversation. "But golly! That's big!"
"It's slow like one too, so let's try to take it out before it gets here!" Miho said. She ordered through the radio. "Concentrate all fire on the Tortoise! Try to immobilize it!"
The replies of affirmative came in and the fire focused onto the Tortoise. Noises of shells hitting dirt and tree disappear, all replaced by rapid metallic ricochets as the Tortoise's front armor prove invulnerable to Ōarai's firepower.
"The gun won't depress far enough for the tracks!" Hoshino said as she found the elevation gear stuck and won't move the 88 mm any lower.
"We'll pop out and get a better angle!" Satoko said as she looked at the terrain. "Tsuchiya, when I give the word, try to boost the Porsche down that hill a bit so we can get a better angle."
"Right!" The energetic "drift king" driver said from her position.
"Hey, team. If we can get some cover fire, we can try and immobilize that tank by hitting the tracks!"
"Roger that."
"Okay!"
The replies from the two school captains present sent the word out, and the tanks of Sunflower became more aggressive, firing more cannons shots and machine gun round.
Satoko watched the incoming enemy fire slow a bit as the Ōarai tanks fired out their shells before withdrawing to cover. Then a barrage of enemy shells came into their direction. When that ended, Satoko gave the word.
"Now! Tsuchiya!"
"Right!" The Porsche engine and motors revved up and the Porsche moved at a speed the original Henschel Tiger could only wish it could. It climbed the small hill in front and headed towards its depression, right before halting on the hill, exposed to the enemy, but with a bulls-eye in sight.
"Now Hoshino!"
"I got it!"
She pressed the 88 mm trigger and the round clanged out with a stunning BOOM that would provide quite an experience to anyone on both sides of the gun.
They didn't bother to check the result. 'Tsuchiya, go!" Satoko ordered and the Tiger (P) drove out of its vulnerable position right in time to avoid the large barrage of incoming enemy fire. Despite showing its long length, Satoko could only hear one round graze the hull.
"Aw, there goes that paint job!"
"Miporin! Jasmine is reporting enemy crossing the south river!"
"I thought they said it was impossible?"
"Well, not anymore, apparently!" Saori said frantically. While the front situation was being handled, it seemed their flanks were in trouble.
"Crossing a river that's too deep…" Miho thought about it, then lightly kicked Yukari for her attention. "Yukari, the Shermans you saw in that hangar. Did they have anything on them that was different?"
"N-No, they were regular Shermans. M4A2s I think."
"How about any chimneys coming from their engines?"
"Deep-wading kits? No…"
"Any weird attachments on their hull side?"
"Umm… there were the holes for sand shields… but, now that I think about it, there were some a bit bigger than usual…" Yukari recalled. "There were also two larger holes in the back, like an engine exhaust. But… hmm, they did look a bit larger than usual."
"It must be a DD tank," Miho concluded.
"Dang! They must've removed the equipment before I got there!" Yukari frustrated herself, failing to notice those tiny details. Sure, she can tell the difference between a M4, M4A2, M4A4, but she couldn't tell the tiny details of a DD tank?!
"A DD tank?" Saori asked.
"DD tanks are Shermans converted for floating in water, they can even float in the ocean. They were used in Normandy at D-Day."
"What? Wait, how can a 30 ton tank float in water?"
"Playing with physics or something, I dunno. Ask Reizei later. But if they do have it, they're certainly crossing the river now then!"
"Jasmine! How many did you see cross the river?!" Miho asked.
"We saw them mid-way. Only the last three, not sure how many were in front of those!" Anzu relayed their situation.
"They could be making up as much as a third of the enemy force! I need you to hold them back!" Miho sent out an order.
"We'll try our best! Out!"
"Saori, any word from Sunflower yet?" Miho asked Saori.
"No, nothing. Still quiet."
"I need to know what's going on up there…" Miho said before taking her radio again. "Rabbit, Duck, what's going on?"
North East Side of S-point - Quebec, Canada
Azusa was busy trying to catch up with the volleyball team's Type 89. Their small size and reckless agility allowed them to bypass most of the roads and go on their own. Her M3 Lee, however, had to go over the dirt roads to maintain decent mobility through the rough terrain.
"We're still on our way there, but we haven't heard from Saunders!" Azusa replied to Miho through her radio. "However, we are hearing lots of cannon fire from their general location, they might be up over their heads over there!"
"Do you think you can reinforce them until we can spare some tanks?"
"We'll try, but-"
"Gang way! Enemy incoming!"
Suddenly, she sees Duck team driving back towards her area. From their frantic direction turn and speed, were they running away?
"Huh?"
Azusa failed to react to Duck's transmission as the M3 Lee turned a corner, but in the few seconds she didn't, her medium tank came under fire. A shell came in, bouncing off the front glacis armor of the Lee's hull, right to the driver port, then falling away.
"EEeeeee!" Karina cried out from the surprise shot. The M3 Lee suddenly took a quick throttle forwards.
"No No! Wait! Reverse!" Azusa frantically yelled into her intercom. A jolt and the M3 Lee came to a halt, then another shot came in, glancing off the side top turret with a CLANG.
The M3 started reversing, with the two guns on the Lee suddenly scanning the horizon, Azusa included. The shots came from the front, but they weren't near the river! Was Dandelion really decimated?
"Miho! We're taking fire at…" Azusa briefly peeked at a small part of the map she was focusing on. "Uh… About, 200 meters from the river!?"
"Wait what? Did the enemy already cross the river?"
"I don't know!" Azusa said as another shot came through.
"They're firing pretty fast!" Aya said as she saw the tracers shot miss.
"And it bounced off our front hull…" Ayumi noted, "it's nothing scary like a 17-pounder, right?"
"Hopefully…" Azusa said. "Duck! What did you see?"
"There were two vehicles! They didn't look anything like a tank! I think we saw two of those armored cars Miho was talking about with the other captains!"
"Armored cars?" Azusa remembered them being mentioned, but were they mobile enough to suddenly appear pretty much behind the Ōarai force? The M3 Lee continued reversing behind the lines as another shot missed them. "Duck! I need you to get a clear bearing on where they are so we can engage them here!"
"Okay!" Noriko said as the Type 89 rocked back and forth with the elevation. "U-TURN!"
"Okay!" Shinobu cried as she grasped the turn levers hardly. The Type 89 made a hard turn back, almost lifting it off one side before it headed straight back.
"Go over that hill! Drive with guts!"
"I feel like I might lose mine…" Taeko said from the co-driver position, feeling queasy from all the turns.
"Then let it all out with courage!"
"Hey hey! Don't do that! I'm not cleaning that up!" Shinobu eyed her neighbor carefully.
The Type 89 went on a flat surface a bit as it returned to the main road, right before another bump up high as it climbed another small hill. It was back off-road as it traveled, weaving between the different trees in the path, with Noriko making sure none of the low-hanging ones hit her.
She judged their position carefully, considering where they were shot at and where they are now. If she thought about it carefully. "Okay, turn left now!"
The Type 89 made a swift turn, with centrifugal force being applied with its full weight as it maneuvered the terrain. They should be somewhere southeast from the armored car position. If they're lucky, they could get a jump on maybe one of them!
"Continue forwards!" Noriko told the crew, which Shinobu obliged. Over a few hills and the such, Noriko heard firing in the woods. The noise bounced around the trees, but their general direction was clear.
The Type 89 got up high on a nearby flat surface of the large hill they were on, looking down the depressing slope towards the dirt road at its base. Noriko held a small monoscope as she observed the terrain. The shots fired again, and she could see the muzzle flashes blasting away the leaves on the ground.
She saw them, two armored cars, hiding behind dense trees firing at a position Rabbit was just at.
"Rabbit! I've got them, behind that collection of trees on the far side of the road. When you peek out, they should be around your 2 o' clock direction!"
"I see them!" Azusa reported after a few seconds, soon enough 37 mm rounds were flying down range towards them, with them taking cover.
"I'll try to take one out from the side!" Noriko said as she directed the Type 89 to make a path around to hit them from the other end of their cover.
The Type 89 progressed over their flat area and rode the slope down towards the cars. The Type 89 swerved through various obstacles as it made its way to the hill's base, rounding around its slope until it could get to position.
Noriko's got her eyes sighted on the cars, as well as the Type 89's 57 mm gun. "Alright, time to-!"
"Watch out!" Shinobu cried out. The Type 89 soon met a violent crash as it rammed into something. Noriko, nearly thrown off, caught herself on the cupola's edge with her body, the metal edge digging into her abdomen.
"Ow! What give-" Noriko wanted to finish the sentence, but froze as she looked up at what they crashed into.
Her first ridiculous thought was that it was a boulder. But a boulder was usually rounded given the erosion from nature, and they typically came in many different shape or sizes. The one "boulder" Noriko was looking at was had a sharp-edged, rectangular-shaped body. Not only that, behind it were about four more "rectangular-shaped boulders". To add to that, these "boulders" had smaller square-shaped boulders on top of them, with a large branch sticking out.
A good five second passed before the the square parts on top of the five boulders started turning, pointing their branches towards her…
Noriko felt a cold sweat in her head, then another.
A loud thunder rang as rain began to fall onto the battlefield.
Forest/Jungle Warfare is very confusing.
So I've been busy with school. I got two essays due within the two weeks, as well as midterms. So my updates are going to go at a slower rate than before. Consider the standard to be "once a month" with exceptions.
I've set up some stuff for you glorious readers! I've set up a forum for you all! It's under the name: Girls Und Panzer: World Tournament Universe - Forum.You can do most things related to Girls Und Panzer there! Talk about the anime, talk about other people's fanfic, talk about my terrible writing, talk about tanks, talk about my story. I've got a Q&A section there so you can ask questions on my story as well. You can add topics as well as far as my knowledge of the forums section work. It's my first time with such a system and I hope things go well.
Thank you for your interest and readership! If you like the story and can't wait to see more, feel free to to Favorite and Follow the story to keep up with it. I look forward to seeing you all on my next upload!