Girls Und Panzer: Euro League
Chapter 8: Genghis Khan (Franco-German Schools vs. Pravda Girls High School)
It was out on the snowy tundra where we were to have our first match in Japan. The air was biting cold, but the wool and leather jackets we were issued helped keep us warm. I was walking alongside Commander Wolfe as we met the leaders of the opposing team, "Is this all you got? This is the finest Europe has to offer?" asked the leader,
Their leader was a young lady named Katyusha whom looked like a miniature version of Gabby. I decided to offer her some words of wisdom, "It is good to have confidence in one's self, but you will find that appearances can be deceiving," I said to the little blond. I was wearing my kepi and my tank goggles over my visor ready for the match.
"Ha! Don't try and lecture me, I'll crush you cheating cows into scrap metal!" Katyusha boasted, I have met some people with a Napoleon Complex, but none like hers. She even has a student named Nonna to act as a pair of shoulders for her to sit on. The judge walked onto the snow, and looked at each of us as the match was ready to begin.
"Welcome all to the First International Sensha-Dou Tournament, tonight's match pits Pravda Girls High School against the Franco-German Schools," said the announcer. We reached our hands out to shake hands. Katyusha pulled hers away. I was not offended by her actions. Gabrielle was there as Claramond and I saw the match judge present.
"This is an Elimination Match, I want a nice clean match...from both of you," said the judge as she left the field.
"Ready, Gabby?" I asked my driver with a light smile, and opening the turret hatch.
"Let's do this," Gabby said with a nod, and she climbed into the turret hatch as that is the only way into this tank
Sabaya was finishing her evening prayers as she is Muslim. She is easily recognizable by the white hijab she wears. I overheard a few words between her and Commandant Rousseau, "May God be with us as we go into battle," She said to her commandant as they shared a two-handed handshake. A true sign of sisterhood among our teams.
We used the forest for cover while our crews got their tanks ready for the match. I took my place in the turret as the commandant and gunner. I applied my tank goggles, and looked through the periscope. The radio was on, and Gabrielle was starting up the engine. It was time for the ELC AMX Bis to make it's debut on the Japanese battlefield.
I saw the flare that began the match, and closed the hatch, "Team Allouette, ready," I said radioing the others,
"Team Aigel, ready at your command, Filion," said Cherie from her radio
"Team Faucon, ready," said Anne-Marie from her tank,
"En avant!" I ordered to them, and the battle had begun. Looking through the commander's periscope, I could see there were at least ten T-34 tanks with both 7.6cm and 8.5cm guns. There was also two heavy tanks, a KV-2 which my teammates nicknamed the 'Chicken Leg', and an IS-2. This is a formidable team, but nothing we can't handle.
We drove down into the battlefield with our tanks in a single file line. When the T-34s were in sight, and radioed the others, "Rousseau, Joffre, break off!" I radioed back feeling the rumble as the Russian guns starting shooting at us, "alright ladies, Pravda is in sight, prepare to move in when we are in retreat," I radioed back to the Germans.
"10-4, Filion," said Claramond on the other end,
"10-4 copy that," said Aurora from her turret radio,
"10-4, over and out," said Lillianna being on the same channel as us,
"Roger that," said Anne-Marie and Cherie in unison and our tanks broke into a wedge, and when our guns were in close range, we started circling the T-34s and started shooting back. Every shell counted, and we had to use our light tank's speed to our advantage. 7.6cm and 8.5cm shells exploded all around, but none of them have hit us.
A huge rumble like a fully-loaded freight train hammered the ground as our tanks broke formation to encircle the team. That was the power of the 15.2cm gun on the KV-2 heavy tank. The shock of the blast could be felt throughout the tank as the shell hit behind me. I must have a guardian angel seeing that massive shell did not hit the turret.
The shock that came from the gun of the IS-2 was enough to rattle our brains, and almost flipped over Team Faucon's tank, "Joffre, are you alright?" I asked radioing the commandant of the tank. It seemed Cherie and her driver were having success against the T-34s as the numbers were dwindling to nearly half the number they started with.
"I am fine, just a little shaken," She radioed back to me in a daze,
"That IS-2 almost hit us, we need cover fire," said Sabaya from her driver's side radio.
Our shots were hitting their tracks or the hull armor. Other shells were disabling guns, and gun pivots. Once there were at four tanks with the two heavy tanks, I decided to give the order, "Alright, ladies, pull back, pull back," I ordered, and our three light tanks turned around and started to retreat. We wanted to give them a sense like they won.
The Germans were readying themselves for action, "Team Grunwald at the ready!" radioed Claramond to her team,
"Team Lobau ready, let's go Blond Bunnies!" Aurora cheered,
"Team Konigsberg, ready and waiting," said Lillianna from her radio
"Gabby! Pull a hard right, and head back to the forest!" I ordered to my driver, she smiled and winked at me,
"You got it!" She cheered, and pulled the tank around and led our teams back to the forest. A heavy 12.0cm shell sped through the air, and hit the turret of the KV-2. The German Indien-Panzers were coming into the battle. Claramond's medium tank fired a 9.0cm shell, and shot the tracks off Katyusha's T-34 while another hit the gun pivot.
When the Germans saw the muzzle breaks of our guns, they moved in for the attack and sprang the trap, "All tanks, forward!" Commander Wolfe ordered
Gabby pulled the tank around, and our three ELC-AMX light tanks went back on the attack, "Looks like we are having chicken tonight!" said Aurora as the 'Blond Bunnies' of Team Lobau went on the attack on the KV-2. With the KV-2 knocked out of the match, the AMX-50 Foch and the 'Jagermeister Panther' were now on the prowl for the IS-2.
"Team Sainte-Martha, moving in and providing cover fire," radioed Bernadette as the Mighty AMX-50 Foch took the field,
"Team Zweihander, advancing on the line, engaging targets," said Commander Braun as the Jagermeister Panther advanced alongside our tank destroyer,
"Keep sustained fire on the heavies, and cover our advance!" I radioed to the 'tank hunters'. The turret on the KV-2 was a juicy target for all matter of shells going at it. Under the constant barrage of Pravda's guns, I advanced my tanks in to distract the IS-2, and turn it's turret away so the tank destroyers can exploit the big distraction.
They followed our orders to the letter, and we had achieved our first victory. The AMX 50 Foch fired a shell into the IS-2s tracks, while the Jagermeister Panther shot a 10.5cm shell to disable the turret's pivot mechanism. The flare went up to signal the end of the match, and we exited our tanks to meet back up with the Pravda Teams.
The tanks that were taken out of the match littered the snow-covered fields. Katyusha looked on the verge of crying, "She won't say it, but I will," said Nonna in a calm and collected manner, "good match, and the best of luck against the other schools, you're going to need it," We shook her hands after the match, and headed back to our tanks.
Our team learned that by working together that anything is possible. We drew inspiration from the military minds of the past, and it helped us gain our first victory. I looked up at the large television screen that showed Pravda had been eliminated. We were moving on to face both Saunders Girls High School, and St. Gloriana Girls High School.