The Legends Still Live On
Bogen Zweiundzwanzig: Die Dichter und Denker
Kapitel Zwei: Vorschau - Panzerkampf
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For all the German schools that participated in the Arts of Warfare, there wasn't much to do during the course of a long march to the east. The boredom was almost worth going to sleep to, watching the seemingly endless and monotonic steppes pass by over the course of the march. But they all knew for certain that as soon as their columns of Panzers containing such monsters as the Tiger I, Tiger II, Jagdtiger, Jagdpanther, Elefant, the numerous-yet-highly-lethal Panthers, along with the more tame Panzer IVs and Sturmgeschütz IIIs crossed over the border, things would not be boring for very long.
Into the motherland!
The German army march!
That was because all of the German schools that participated in the Arts of Warfare were crossing over the border into Mother Russia. To be particular, the largest concentration of the German forces were crossing over from northeastern Ukraine into the southwestern regions of Russia, dominated by the seemingly endless Russian steppes. Their total numbers with regards to manpower were well into the six-figure range, nearly seven-figure.
Such massive numbers for a single battle in the Arts of Warfare circuit might've been unheard of for people who paid little attention to the sport. To be fair, though, it would be right to assume that such numbers weren't commonly seen in any other fight. While the numbers between two opponents might've gotten into the six-digit range during pre-battle brawls, they never got as high as during these particular campaigns.
Because this was Germany versus Russia, the two titans of wargaming. These two were always looking for an advantage over the other and would exploit any weakness they could find immediately upon discovering it. These two were bitter, bitter rivals, neither side forgetting any deeds the other committed over the past century. These two countries that seemingly always clashed with each other made it a point to not waste any effort when it came to eradicating the other, resulting in a constant battle for the glory of who was the undisputed best, and they were not afraid to get dirty with each other to make it so.
So in that light, it made sense as to why the number of combatants in a single battle between them would be so high. This fight between the two giants of the Arts of Warfare circuit was simply another chance to assert superiority over one another, another chance for dick-measuring.
It really was sort of like dick-measuring, because it was guaranteed on both sides that both of their top divisions - or schools, to use the more technical term over the better representative term - would face each other in combat. Therefore, it had already been scheduled to be a fight with the glory of superiority on the line as early as when the results for each country's semifinals fight were reported.
So, having the kind of one-upmanship both sides had for each other, it came as no surprise to anyone when the two mutually decided to enlist all of their schools that were involved in their respective countries' Arts of Warfare programs to join the battle. That meant all German schools were available for use to Schwarzwaldspitze Gymnasium, and all Russian schools were at the disposal of Shkola No.34 'Pravda.' Until it was time for the official fight, the Germans and Russians would throw everything they had at one another like it was another Eastern Front.
In the west of Russia
In the fields that are so green
The Russian steppes were nothing if not dull. The only thing that kept the Germans alert on the march into western Russia was a large billboard at the Ukrainian-Russian border that had the following sprawled out across it: 'S vozvrashcheniem na Vostochnyj Front, urody fashistskie!'
After having some locals explain it to some of them, eventually the Germans figured out that the billboard said, 'welcome back to the Eastern Front, fascist bastards!' Obviously, some of them glowered at the sign upon finding out its meaning, as that was considered an insult of the highest caliber to the Germans. But others let it go, knowing that the Russians didn't care one bit about being offensive or not. Schwarzwaldspitze's members were willing to bet it was Pravda who commissioned the billboard, as it was their style to be so bold.
Divers of planes and tanks
Everywhere one can see
Despite the German forces numbering close to one million combatants, they knew they would still be outnumbered regardless. The Russians never longed for manpower, having about two and a half million of their own combatants to send out in total.
With regards to tanks and aircraft, the Germans had about three-thousand three-hundred Panzers and about two-thousand fighters, while the Russians had far more with around seven-thousand five-hundred tanks and around three-thousand five-hundred fighters. It was to be expected that the Russians would have far greater numbers than the Germans, but that didn't mean the German forces were guaranteed to lose.
Ready for the onslaught!
Ready for the fight!
Both sides had prepared immensely for this fight, knowing that a crown of glory was on the line. For the German side, that consisted of some more intense training in preparation for what was anticipated to be a fight with the intensity of a supernova. The overall mood among the German divisions - or schools, it didn't really matter so much with the distinction at this stage - was one of anxiousness to get out there and start the fight already.
Waiting for Black Forest
To march into the trap
The way the Russian side prepared was by setting up defenses that were expected to help wear down the German numbers. It was a tactic that suited their situation well, because they didn't have to go on the march into hostile land. The reason behind that was because the official fight between Schwarzwaldspitze and Pravda was revealed to be somewhere around the Kursk area, though it wasn't specified where exactly.
Tanks are placed in ambush
In the cover of the night
So the Russian side didn't have to do much of anything besides prepare adequate defenses, because the enemy would be forced to come to them anyway. Well, part of their relative laziness in their movements was because May Day had recently passed, which in typical Russian fashion demanded a vast audience to witness the obscenely flashy military parade they put on every year in Moscow. Because of May Day being close to the scheduled date for the Schwarzwaldspitze-Pravda fight, it meant that the Germans hadn't run into much resistance during the days that surrounded May Day.
Waiting to pull triggers
When the time is right
To avoid the problem of having to move their forces almost unrealistically fast, the Russians had moved much of their equipment to the Kursk area and hid them away before going to the parade. It frustrated the Germans when they thought they had a bead on the Russian movements, but later finding out they were merely making their movements to conceal their forces. Pravda had stayed behind and played a very dangerous game of hide-and-seek with the Germans in Ukraine prior to May coming around so the rest of the Russian forces could escape and attend the May Day parade in Moscow.
Imminent grudge battle!
Imminent attack!
"I can't believe you didn't get any information from that girl, you stupid bear!" a Russian girl with blonde hair flowing freely down to her upper back and blue eyes fiercely berated someone over her phone as she walked around an airfield that was just beginning to show bustling activity. Numerous ground crews were busied with readying up the numerous Russian fighters that were based there. She was average in height and had relatively normal proportions, with one exception: she had a smaller chest than average, something she cursed regularly as it made her open to constant good-natured teasing from her friends. "Let alone letting her escape! You're so ridiculously incompetent, Kolenka, that I don't know how you got to be the Kapitan of the Tankovaya Brigada!"
Once the fight has started
There's no turning back
"Shut up, Sasha!" a blond-haired, blue-eyed young man snapped back over his own phone at the scolding he was getting from the Komandir Divizii for Pravda's Istrebitel'naya Aviatsionnaya Divizia. While his tall height and well-built body could intimidate anyone else, the Kapitan of Pravda's Tankovaya Brigada hated that he couldn't make Sasha simply obey him like everyone else did. He both liked and cursed that strong-willed mentality of hers. Kolenka nearly punched his fist into the armor of the T-34-85 he commanded out of frustration from his humiliation, particularly from that insult about being a stupid bear, but he thought better and instead chose to simply slouch against it. "What's done is done, so let's just get ready to engage."
The end of the win streak draws near
Its time!
Has come to an end!
"Fine, but if we lose this battle, then it's all on you," Sasha pointedly reminded Kokenka before she hung up on him. She then took a moment to breathe and relax herself. It wouldn't do good to remain all worked up about Kolenka's typical idiocy. The big bear's immaturity and ego knew no bounds, but one thing Aleksandra could reluctantly agree on with him was that it was time for them to end Schwarzwaldspitze's run. The elite German school had taken home the glory of being the undisputed best in the world for nine years running, and this year they were poised to bring home a tenth consecutive victory. Pravda's mission was to not let that happen. With that objective in mind, Sasha made her way to her La-5FN, unique from the others of its ilk in having a white number 100 on the side. "Pozivee tam, vremya na iskhode!" the Komandir Divizii barked across the airfield for everyone get a move on, as it was nearly time.
The end of an era is here
It's time!
To attaaaaack!
Kolenka took a moment to stare down at his phone for a little longer, almost as if trying to will Sasha to call back and apologize for that insult. But knowing the Russian girl was never going to bow down to him, Nikolay, the leader of Pravda, he put his phone back into his pocket and made to prepare for the coming fight. Aleksandra's scathing of the Russian Kapitan could be likened to poking a bear with a stick, because Kolenka always got aggravated by Sasha's stubbornness to accept him as the undisputed leader over all of Shkola No.34 'Pravda.' But now was not the time to dwell on that annoyance, because it was time to get ready for battle. "Nachinayem!" the buff blonde Russian yelled at his men within the woods they had used to conceal themselves to get started in their preparation as he climbed up his T-34-85.
Into the motherland!
The German army march!
After finding out the rough location of where the battle was to take place, the Germans had split their forces into two pincers that moved to encircle the entire Kursk area, but it was a slow go due to Russian ambushes that were laid beforehand. The Russians were inflicting losses on their German foes, but they themselves were suffering great losses thanks to both the cautious pace of the German advance as well as German aviation, which had long since achieved local air superiority and therefore was free to pound the Russian positions into submission via airstrikes.
Comrades stand side-by-side!
To stop Black Forest's charge
Despite that, the Russians stubbornly resisted the German advance. In particular, the Russian heavy tanks were real nuisances to take out, even more so for those that wielded enormous guns. The KV-2 and SU-152 each had massive 152 mm guns that could take out even the heaviest of armor if they landed an HE shell in the right spot. Then there was the IS-2, both the 1943 and later 1944 models, that had a 122 mm gun capable of taking out almost any German tank out there with ease.
Panzers on Russian soil!
A thunder in the east!
But even in the face of those Russian steel walls, the German Panzerwaffe had their own weapons with which to fight back and stay on the offensive. There was the Elefant, a tank destroyer with armor so heavy that the Russian 122 mm cannons could only penetrate it from point-blank range, if they were lucky. Then there was also the Jagdpanther, another tank destroyer with very resistant sloped armor but, more importantly, great mobility. Both had the long 88 mm PaK 43 L/71, guns that could take out every single Russian tank that could possibly be encountered, including the heavily-armored IS-2 mod. 1944.
And that didn't even take into account the relatively rare Tiger IIs and the even rarer Jagdtigers. Both of those heavy tanks were similarly heavily-armored, if not more so due to their use of both heavy armor and sloped armor. The Tiger II could only be penetrated by the Russian 122 mm guns if hit in the turret at relatively close range, while the Jagdtiger was completely impenetrable to the 122 mm gun. The Tiger II also used the long 88 mm gun, but the Jagdtiger had the 128 mm PaK 44 L/55 cannon, a gun that was infinitely more devastating to be on the receiving end of, particularly at long range where it still retained a lot of penetration. Pravda didn't have to deal with those two titans in particular though, since Schwarzwaldspitze didn't use them. The more advanced German equipment had been deployed to the northern pincer.
All their people fight this war!
Now Pravda's wrath's unleashed
The area around the Russian city of Kursk became very reminiscent to how it was during the battle for the same area three-quarters of a century ago as the German forces continued to claw their way through the terrain. For Pravda, it became a waiting game as the day to wage battle for the glory of superiority neared. As they expected, Schwarzwaldspitze was the main spearhead for the southern pincer, meaning they were ideally not getting any rest, unlike the elite Russian school which had the chance to rest up for at least a day. The plan for them was to strike with everything they had when the elite German school was exhausted, a plan that appeared to remain viable as the day of battle neared.
Fields of Prokhorovka
Where the heat of battle burned
Eventually, the officials revealed the field of battle for Schwarzwaldspitze and Pravda when the Germans were nearly upon it: Prokhorovka. Michael Nishizumi had called it the moment it was hinted the battlefield was around Kursk somewhere. It was just too obvious in his mind.
That was when Pravda finally revealed itself to the Germans. Their forces came out from wooded cover initially as fresh reinforcements, but it was obvious that they fell under the Pravda banner judging by their insignias. That shook the Schwarzwaldspitze forces into alertness as they recognized it was time to really fight.
Suffered heavy losses
And the fight's fortunes had turned
"Rotlila-Ein?... Erika?" Isabel repeatedly tried to get a hold of her younger sister over the radio, but no response came back. The black-haired teen didn't think Erika's small contingent had been shot down, but if it had, then the rest of Pravda's fighters would be coming for the Geschwaderkommodore's group next. If anything, then Isabel could at least see how many Russian fighters she could take down in quick succession, because she knew it would be a lot. Pravda was nothing if not predictable: they loved using numbers to their advantage.
Down on the ground, the Russian tanks were focused on taking down the bulk of German heavy armor that was commanded by Michael. The stoic commander of Tiger number 212 never said anything to his subordinates, but he knew that victory was now no longer guaranteed. He had tried getting a status report out of his younger brother Manfred earlier about his detachment, but the commander of Tiger number 217 didn't respond. He didn't like acknowledging the possibility that the detachment had been overrun, so he instead focused on the present situation.
Driving back the Germans!
Closed in on four sides!
That present situation was being caught in a double envelopment by Pravda and being surrounded. The T-34s, both the 76 mm and 85 mm models, were easy to deal with for most of the Schwarzwaldspitze Panzers. The real problem came from the IS-2 mod. 1943 decorated with a number 015 on its turret.
The problem posed by that tank was its gunner's extreme accuracy, which combined with its lethal gun made it a very sore pain in the ass. The gunner himself was quite short in stature, no surprise considering how cramped Russian tanks usually were. With black hair, blue eyes, and a nearly saint-like tolerance for Kolenka, Nikita was collected and focused as ever while he unleashed the fury of the Russian 122 mm cannon with pinpoint accuracy.
Hunt and snuff them out
Bring a Pravda win
Up in the air, Pravda's array of fighters was giving Schwarzwaldspitze's fighters a very hard time. Combat was mainly done at low altitudes, below ten-thousand feet, which put the Russian Yak-1s and La-5s nearly even with the German fighters in performance.
But despite the good effort her girls were giving, Sasha felt something was just utterly wrong with this scenario. Something felt off. For her, it had felt like it was too easy to break even with the German fighters. The Russian fighter ace had thought it strange when there was only one cluster of German fighters in the air. It didn't seem like a tactic Schwarzwaldspitze would use.
Go strafe down the frontline
Stop Black Forest and impede
Sasha had cursed Kolenka out over the radio big time when she got word that he wanted her forces to strafe the Schwarzwaldspitze Panzerabteilung. While she could appreciate the idea of doing ground attack duty, it was something that was all but impossible for her fighters to do. Russian fighters had very little in the way of air-to-ground munitions: the La-5FNs and Yak-1Bs could only carry two 50 kg bombs, and the I-16 Type 28, despite however much Sasha adored the little fighter, could only carry two 100 kg bombs. So it was pointless in her mind to do ground attack and interdiction duty with what she had available to her.
Send in all that you've got
And secure their defeat
Sasha finally ended up telling Kolenka to stuff it, to which she got an angry tantrum as the bulky blonde's response. "Ugh, such a whiny bear..." the Russian fighter ace muttered as she endured the suffering of having to listen to the Russian bear that thought himself a tactical genius. If she had to be honest, Kolenka was absolutely a tactical genius. Just not when it came to Sasha's domain of aircraft. In that area, he was an idiot compared to the blonde Russian girl.
Finally, the Russian Kapitan got over his tantrum of not getting what he wanted and simply said in a gruff tone, "Fine. Just give the enemy everything you have."
Tanks and planes of Pravda!
Broke Black Forest well!
Up in the air, the Schwarzwaldspitze Jagdwaffe was being pressured hard. It was impossible for them to get a chance to carry out airstrikes against the Russian tanks, even though they were desperately needed to help stem the tide. The Russian fighters were simply pushing the German fighters too hard to give them any room.
Ruins of their legend!
Win streak rest in hell!
Conversely, Pravda's forces were given a boost in morale when they saw how the Germans were fewer in number than they were before. The elite Russian school always had greater numbers than their German foes did, but it was nevertheless a boost in morale to the Russians to know that their comrades' sacrifices were not in vain, that they were making progress with defeating their enemies.
The end of the win streak draws near
Its time!
Has come to an end!
Schwarzwaldspitze ended up switching tactics. On the ground, the Panzerwaffe grouped all their remaining forces together to deliver a single powerful blow that, it was hoped, would allow them to break out of Pravda's double envelopment. The weak point they chose to strike at was at Pravda's heavy tanks, relying on their slow reload times and low numbers to give them the chance to break out.
Their Elefant led the charge along with their Jagdpanther toward the Russian heavies. A KV-2 spotted them and fired its enormous 152 mm gun in the direction of the Jagdpanther, but because of the slow muzzle velocity of the shell, the German tank destroyer was able to avoid the HE trash can using its great mobility before stopping and firing its long 88 mm gun at the towering Russian heavy tank.
The end of an era is here
It's time!
To attaaaaack!
The 88 mm shell struck true and took down the Russian lumbering beast. At the same time, Nikita in his IS-2 mod. 1943 wearing turret number 015 aimed and fired at the Elefant. The 122 mm shell hit its mark dead-on like it always did with Nikita pulling the trigger. Unfortunately for the diminutive Russian gunner, the Elefant's ungodly thick armor ate up the shell like a mid-afternoon snack, and the German Panzerjäger's long 88 mm gun fired a return shell into the Russian heavy tank's relatively flat frontal armor, taking it out of the fight with ease. The doorway to break out of the pocket was opened, and Schwarzwaldspitze's Panzers began to funnel through it.
Into the motherland!
The German army march!
Though they were obviously inferior in numbers to Pravda, Schwarzwaldspitze's Panzers were still putting up a fierce fight. They had to move quickly and regroup so they could make some new plans to deal with the latest battlefield scenario. It wasn't looking pretty by any means for them, but if there was a chance, it had to be taken.
Comrades stand side-by-side!
To stop Black Forest's charge
The Russian tankers were not willing to let the Germans get out so easily, however. They fought on with just as much vigor even though they had lost their best marksman when Nikita's IS-2 was taken out by the Elefant alongside Kolenka's favorite, the KV-2, after it was taken out by the Jagdpanther.
Up in the air, things were just as fierce. Though the Russian La-5s were very capable fighters down low, so were the German Bf 109Gs. Sasha was fully aware of this after getting caught in a brief exchange of fire with Isabel, the Russian ace barely managing to escape with her plane intact thanks to the timely arrival of her comrades' aid.
Panzers on Russian soil!
A thunder in the east!
Down on the ground, the Schwarzwaldspitze Panzerwaffe eventually forced their way out of the double envelopment after an intense exchange of fire. Numerous Panzer IV Js and a lesser number of Panther Gs laid across the land out of commission, and many more T-34s, of both the 76 mm and 85 mm variety, were in the same state.
All their people fight this war!
Now Pravda's wrath's unleashed
But, as always, Pravda had many more of their T-34s still up and running. The Russians still held their numerical superiority over the Germans, and they were eager to use that advantage once again. After all, 'send more men' was the number one Russian tactic. They lost a division? Send more men. They were pushed into a retreat? Send more men. They won the war already? Send more men. There were no more men left? Doesn't matter. Send more men.
Standing out of the commander's hatch of his T-34-85, Kolenka could see the German Panzers retreating, and he was determined to follow them. "Onwards, comrades!" he broadly commanded across the land to his tanks. "Tankers in the service of Pravda!" He pointed onwards in a heroic gesture to emphasize his next command. "CHARGE!"
Oh Mother Russia
None with more land
At the proclamation to charge forth, Pravda's tanks stormed after Schwarzwaldspitze's Panzers, the Russian tank crews greatly motivated by their Kapitan's confidence as he led the way. It was like a scene out of a Soviet propaganda film, as the Russian tanks stampeded across the land to hunt down the retreating German Panzers.
Will of her people
Strong in command
Up in the air, still at low altitudes, there was relatively little change in the struggle for aerial superiority. The only changes so far were how Schwarzwaldspitze's numbers had been decreased further. Pravda's fighters had also decreased in number, by a larger margin than the German fighters, but the Russians were flaunting their greater numbers as they sent more fighters to overwhelm the Germans.
Oh Mother Russia!
None with more land!
Isabel knew that very well as she landed another brief burst with her guns and felled another La-5FN before entering a zoom climb. The black-haired teen had called it from the beginning that there would be a lot of additions made to many of her pilots' kill counts, but none that day could compare to the Black Demoness in her Bf 109 G-6. Hell, Isabel herself didn't even know the exact number of Russian fighters she had downed without mercy. All that could be said was that she had shot down an awful lot of them.
Once more victorious
The great Pravda staaaaands
"URAAAAAAAAAA!" was the collective battle cry passionately uttered among Pravda's tankers as they chased down Schwarzwaldspitze's Panzers down below. Morale was at an all-time high for the elite Russian school, because victory was within their sights. All they had to do was flush out the rest of the German Panzers and they would have their long-desired triumph over their arch-enemy.
But Schwarzwaldspitze would not simply sit back and have Pravda trample over them. Though their numbers were greatly diminished, the Germans still had some highly capable machines with which to give their Russian adversaries a real headache.
After all, the Schwarzwaldspitze Panzerwaffe still had available their Elefant and Jagdpanther, along with a handful of Panthers. If that group of monsters wasn't enough, then Tiger number 212 certainly was. The 88 mm gun on the fifty-seven-ton heavy tank seemed to be constantly smoking, having fired more in this one fight than in all other fights thus far. And to go with the heavy amount of 88 mm shells being fired, there was also practically a junkyard of metal strung out across the land, consisting of several T-34s put out of commission by the German armored beast.
Things looked bleak for them, but Michael Nishizumi still led the Schwarzwaldspitze Panzerwaffe, or rather what remained of it, with complete resolve. He never raised his voice more than what was necessary. He wasn't somebody that could be shaken so easily. In fact, excluding his younger brother and the Hartmann sisters, nobody within Schwarzwaldspitze Gymnasium had ever seen the dark brunette Tiger ace do so much as show a single emotion. The guy was seemingly impossible to surprise. If an enemy tried to catch him off-guard, chances were very likely that he already knew about his foe's intentions well before they put them into action. That was partly the reason why Pravda's T-34s seemed to just walk straight into his Tiger's crosshairs.
Up in the air, things were looking just as bleak. Not many of Schwarzwaldspitze's fighters remained, while Pravda had more than enough to carry on. Or rather, the Russians would have had more than enough to carry on if it wasn't for the one they had labeled Chernaya Demonitsa, or Black Demoness. Isabel-Justina Hartmann and her Bf 109 G-6, bearing callsign Karaya-Ein and wearing the black tulip nose art that was one of the proposed origins for her well-known nickname, had gone into overdrive and become far more aggressive of a fighter, as it was effectively do or die time for her.
The black-haired ultra-ace was the reason Pravda's Komandir Divizii had to return back to base: Sasha's La-5 had gotten caught in the German ultra-ace's sights for barely a split-second, but Isabel made no waste of the opportunity and drove a burst of bullets into the Russian fighter. The Russian fighter ace managed to narrowly evade getting shot down and only suffered crippling damage that had to be repaired to make her La-5 competitive again. Sasha was still in the fight, make no mistake. She was just smart enough to break off the engagement with Isabel and live to fight another day.
The end of the win streak draws near
Its time!
Has come to an end!
While Sasha was away getting her La-5 repaired, the air battle eventually dwindled down from attrition into a one-on-one dogfight between Isabel and Natasha, the Zamestitel' Komandira of Pravda's Istrebitel'naya Aviatsionnaya Diviziya. Though her real name was Natalia, the tall Russian deputy with flowing black hair and blue eyes was often nicknamed Natasha, just like how Sasha and Kolenka were often called by their shortened names over their full names of Aleksandra and Nikolay respectively. Natasha was the very best friend of Sasha, having complete trust in her judgment. Sasha relied on her immensely, as she also had quite the talent in the skies, her most well-known skill being her extremely accurate shot placement. Such shot placement was a necessity for her fighter, a Yak-9U marked with a black number 77, because the lightweight Russian fighter did not carry much ammunition for its guns.
The end of an era is here
It's time!
To attaaaaack!
The fight between the Russian crack shot and the German ultra-ace was very intense. It was reminiscent of the wartime aerial engagements between Luftwaffe aces and the Soviets' Red Banner fighters, with the most experienced and talented of pilots giving all that they had and neither side giving each other any room to breathe.
The fight progressed that way for what felt like forever, with each side pulling out as many counter maneuvers and energy tricks as they could, but eventually Isabel was able to get an opening. She was able to close the distance with the Russian Yak-9 that tried to turn and meet the attack. The German pilot waited until she got extremely close, until the Russian fighter completely filled up her windscreen, before opening fire with her guns.
Into the motherland!
The German army march!
Natasha's Yak-9U was no more afterwards as the enemy Bf 109G's shots landed home and took her down. The fight had worked its way down to very low altitude, around five-thousand feet, meaning the Russian crack shot would end up landing her powerless Yak within a minute or two.
But after zooming away in a zoom climb, Isabel grew surprised when she felt her Messer lose power all of a sudden. Looking down at her fuel gauge, she let out a loud groan of disbelieving frustration when she discovered the gauge needle was pointed all the way to the left. In other words, it was reading empty. This was the last thing the black-haired ultra-ace needed right now, because she was too far away from her airfield to simply glide there from her low altitude level.
Comrades stand side-by-side!
To stop Black Forest's charge
It sucked for Isabel, because she knew Schwarzwaldspitze no longer had the luxury to go out and search for fallen pilots, even if she managed to land behind friendly lines. She hadn't really been paying attention to how long she had been airborne, because her attention was otherwise occupied by a horde of Russian fighters that she had to shoot down. Checking her fuel level had slipped her mind. After thinking it over a bit, Isabel realized that she would've probably been in the same situation she was in currently even if she did check her fuel level, because that was one long, intense fight against that Yak.
Panzers on Russian soil!
A thunder in the east!
Down on the ground with the tank battle, Pravda continued throwing their numerous amounts of T-34s at Schwarzwaldspitze's few remaining Panzers. The Russians had managed to take down the Elefant and Jagdpanther finally, but they still had the problem of the few Panthers and Tiger number 212. The German Panzers were putting up a very stubborn last stand in an effort to bring Pravda down with them.
Kolenka grew frustrated at the lack of progress as he saw his tanks get slaughtered by the lone Tiger H1. His solution to the problem was for him to enter the line of fire himself and take that Tiger out. But, noting how there were now no more Panthers to engage and how the Tiger had taken down yet another T-34-85 leaving Pravda's total number of tanks extremely low, the Russian Kapitan knew it wouldn't be easy.
All their people fight this war!
Now Pravda's wrath's unleashed
The battle came down to the wire as only three tanks remained in total: two of Pravda's T-34-85s and the single Schwarzwaldspitze Tiger I with turret number 212. Both sides were poised for a direct frontal engagement, as the distance was far too great to allow maneuvering before each side reloaded and was ready to fire. So it became a frontal engagement, one that would decide who took home the glory of being the best in the world.
The German Tiger had smartly angled itself into the Mahlzeit position, bolstering its thick armor even more and giving the Russian 85 mm guns a great challenge with trying to penetrate it. Both sides took aim at each other, with both of the Russian tanks taking aim at the Tiger and the German heavy tank taking aim at Kolenka's T-34. Simultaneously, two 85 mm ZiS-S-53 cannons and one 8,8 cm KwK 36 L/56 cannon bellowed with flames at the end of their barrels and sent their dense rounds down range, in hopes to finally end the great war in the east.
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Part of Projekt Erika.
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The author doesn't claim to own "Girls und Panzer," the music used, or any other references made. "Girls und Panzer" belongs to Actas. The music belongs to Sabaton. Any references made belong to their respective owners.
Feel free to ask any questions if you have them. Please note, however, that questions asked without being signed in will not be answered. The author would prefer to address questions outside of the story, and leaving questions while signed in provides that ability.
Special thanks to ChillingComrade for his Russian expertise.