Chapter 37: Saunders vs Anzio, part 4.
In another part of the mountainous area the CV33 of Anzio proceeded towards their objective.
"I bet they stand at the crossroads holding their heads in their hands!" Pepperoni said, laughing loudly.
"Battles are won with Smartness, not firepower!" She added, sure of herself.
At that moment she received a message on the radio.
"Nii-san Pepperoni!"
"What's up?" She asked.
"Bad news! One of their Shermans is after us!"
Pepperoni initially gasped.
But how did they understand?
She wondered, amazed.
"Don't worry, they can never match the speed of Anzio! Let them eat the dust!" She declared, recovering her bravado.
"Five enemy tanks sighted, heading west from point F24!" Sacajawea announced, a former Ooarai student and now Rock Team radio operator, a girl with short black hair and gray eyes.
Meanwhile Azusa, observing with binoculars from the turret, semoventi stopped a short distance from her tank. Also Aya Oono, third gunner of Team Wolverine, a girl with brown hair tied in two long ponytails and a pair of brown eyes, who wore wide glasses.
"More semoventi … Just like before! But this time they don't trick us!" She exclaimed, boldly.
Before her captain could stop her she fired a machine gun burst and a cannon at the enemy vehicles, only to realize to her dismay that this time they were real, and that they were charging after them.
"Point F23, identified two semoventi. And this time they're real!" Azusa communicated.
"We attacked them, sorry. They are returning fire!" She added.
Kay, at the head of eight Shermans (including hers), ordered:
"Don't worry, now we know their tactics! Keep a safe distance and attack the Semoventi! If they were to move west it is a sign that their forces intend to reunite. Try to stop them! In the meantime, I will send you reinforcements!"
"I don't know if we'll make it, but we'll try!" Was the answer.
Kay addressed h er crew and those of the other 2 tanks:
"Team Eagle, Black Bear, Beaver, Alligator, let's keep going! We have to hit the enemy flag tank before the others surround us! Naturally this will expose our tank but we can use it as a decoy for the enemy. Team Bobcat and Coyote, join Team Rock and support them! Team Raccoon and Rattlesnake, do the same with team Wolverine!"
She looked out from the turret, concluding with a:
"Girls, I wish you all the best of luck."
Rock Team was stalking 5 enemy tanks, firing both cannon and machine gun. Soon, however, three more Carri Veloci appeared behind them as well.
"They're behind us!" Sacajawea announced.
In short the Sherman found itself surrounded by 5 CV33s which fired on it, but unfortunately the machine gun bursts were useless against the armor of the American tank. The latter, however, with its 75 mm cannon eliminated three enemy vehicles.
Meanwhile, Wolverine Team was on the run, hunted down by the two Semoventi.
"All we do is run!" Aya complained.
"We're up against two vehicles…" Azusa reminded her.
"Why don't we try to get around them?" Yuuki proposed.
It was Karina who answered:
"It's hard enough to outdistance them!"
"It's actually just a matter of perspective! Each of their tanks has only one cannon: we have two, so let's even the score!" Yuuki said, pounding her left fist into her right hand:
"I understand!" Ayumi told her.
"No, you don't understand!" She replied, annoyed.
At the same time Anchovy, aboard her P40 and accompanied by a Semovente and a Carro Veloce, was hidden in an unspecified place.
But how long does it take them to implement the plan?
She wondered, then radioed Pepperoni.
"What happened to Operation Macaroni?" She asked, annoyed.
"Sorry, but it's a bad time! Can we talk about it later?" Her deputy answered.
"Why?" She asked, confused.
"We're facing one of their Shermans! I don't know how they discovered us so soon!" Pepperoni replied.
"You baited the decoys, right?" Anzai asked again.
"Of course yes! We have placed them all!"
That revelation was like a slap in the face for her.
"What? But all together they were more than our actual tanks! Of course they understood!" She exclaimed, furious.
"Ah! Now I get it! You are really smart, big sis!" Pepperoni complimented.
"But you are an idiot!" Anchovy insulted her, enraged, and then turned to Carpaccio, who was on board the nearby Semovente.
"We have to move, the enemy will be here soon!"
The three tanks set off, but after a few moments they ran into Saunders' four tanks, with the two captains finding themselves glaring at each other.
"All tanks, halt! Enemy Command and Flag tanks Detected!"
At this point the Sherman quartet split: the Beaver team engaged in combat against the enemy self-propelled gun, while the Eagle team (Kay's, NDA), Alligator (Alisa's, as well as the flag tank) and Black Bear (Naomi's ) chased the P40 and the Carro Veloce through the bush. The two tanks followed each other, exchanging cannon fire which, however, failed.
Stupid Pepperoni… I have explained the plan to her at least 10 times and she screwed it up like this!
Anchovy thought, frustrated.
If we eliminate the P40 we will have won! We can't afford mistakes!
Kay thought determinedly.
As the two captains chased each other more and more CV33 (plus the two remaining Semoventi) were eliminated by Saunders' Shermans.
"Don't think you've already defeated us!" Pepperoni thundered, fierce.
"Four Fast Tanks eliminated!" Saori informed her.
"WHAT?" Anchovy yelled, alarmed by the news.
Without hesitating she put her hand on the radio and said:
"All remaining tanks, abandon the encirclement!"
At that moment she heard an explosion from outside, probably a sign that her spare CV33 had been eliminated.
"Gather around the flag tank! I repeat, all units, rally around the flag tank! Execute Operation Long Duration!"
Damn… We have lost 4 tanks and the enemy none! At this rate we will come out defeated!
She thought, flustered, then turned to her gunner.
"Gelato, I want visual confirmation! Is the Viper team still with us?"
Gelato, who had short light brown hair and eyes of the same color, looked out of the turret for a few seconds, then came back in and said:
"Negative, duce! It has been destroyed! Now we are alone against three enemy Shermans!"
Furious, Anzai balled her left hand into a fist.
"Don't give up, keep shooting! We will win this match and we will get to the 4th place… Better, we will become the champions!"
Too bad she didn't believe it either.
"The P40 is now isolated, we have to eliminate it before reinforcements arrive!" Kay ordered over the radio.
"Received! And how?" Alisa asked her.
"Now I'll explain it to you…"
Meanwhile, Team Rock, Bobcat and Coyote were chasing a CV33.
Damn, what an adrenaline-pumping match…
Helmet-chan thought, galvanized.
Similarly, the Wolverine, Raccoon and Rattlesnake teams hunted down two Semoventi.
"Come on, girls! Let's not give they a break!" Azusa exclaimed.
"Finally I can shoot!" Ayumi exclaimed, happy.
The P40 continued to advance through the woods.
"I don't like this situation…" Saori commented, taut as a violin string.
Anchovy turned to her.
"What do you mean?"
The auburn-haired girl wiped the sweat from her forehead.
"In an area like this, the opposing forces could ambush us… It's the perfect place!" She stated.
Damn uniform… It's making me sweat a lot.
She thought.
Anzai was about to retort but at that moment Gelato, who was scanning the area with her binoculars, exclaimed:
"Enemy Flag Tank Sighted!"
Immediately the Duce of Anzio assumed a hopeful air.
If we catch it we will have won and we will enter the semi-finals!
She thought.
"Let's go after they!" She ordered.
Damn… If only I still had the Stug III and my old mates…
Caesar thought, a former member of the defunct Hippo team, while aboard a Semovente (the other had been eliminated by enemy tanks) she tried to reach her leader.
"Damn… Where is the flag tank? I'm so upset I don't even know where I'm going!" Ricotta exclaimed, the driver, a girl with short light brown hair and eyes of the same color.
"This is not the time to panic, keep focused!" Robiola ordered, menacingly.
The P40 continued to stalk Saunders' flagship tank.
"I don't understand… Where are the other three Shermans?" Gelato wondered, perplexed.
"Are they not chasing us anymore?" Saori asked her.
The brunette came down from the turret and shook her head.
"They are disappeared." She answered.
As I feared… They want to cheat us!
With that thought, she turned to Anchovy:
"Duce, we must abandon the pursuit immediately!"
Anzai looked at her as if she had just uttered a blasphemy; she grabbed her by the collar of her uniform, glaring at her menacingly.
"WHAT?"
Her scream was so shrill that Saori's blood froze. She gulped.
"How dare you give me orders? And of this type, then! Remember, I command this tank and the entire team! You are just a radio operator!"
Recovering from the shock, the girl tried to say:
"Duce, mine wasn't an order! I suspect Saunders is setting a trap for us!"
Anzai made a gesture of annoyance.
"If you haven't noticed, their flag tank is ahead of us! If we eliminate him we will win the match! This is not the time to let go!"
She turned to Gelato.
"You go back to the turret to shoot!" She ordered her.
"Yes, duce!"
Damn… Impatience and thirst for victory have made Anchovy reckless!
Saori thought disconsolately.
"Here Team Alligator, the P40 is getting closer! How far until the killzone?" Alisa asked, alarmed.
"We're almost there, keep guiding them to the point of their defeat!" Kay answered her.
In fact, after a while the M4 Sherman stopped in front of a rock face.
"Finally we got you! Destroy them, Gelato!" Anchovy exclaimed, triumphant.
The gunner complied, but missed and noted with horror that the Firefly had appeared at the top of the hill, held them at gunpoint. After a few seconds also Caesares Semovente and Pepperoni's Carro Veloce; the first, however, fell from the height and practically eliminated himself due to the impact, the second was eliminated by a cannon fire from the Rock team, still flanked by the Bobcat and Coyote teams.
"Damn it… Shoot again!" ordered Anzai, now afraid.
The second shot, however, also missed.
Naomi, who unlike the enemy gunner was calm and concentrated, fired in turn, hitting the P40, from which a white flag appeared. After a few moments a voice from the loudspeaker announced:
"All of Anzio's tanks, including the P40 flag tank, have been eliminated. Saunders Academy wins!"
Kay, who was next to the Firefly with her Sherman, radioed:
"Nice shot, Naomi… I'm proud of you."
For a moment I feared catastrophe!
Alisa thought, breathing a sigh of relief.