Girls Und Panzer: Euro League

Chapter 10: French Iron and German Steel

I look now, and see the beautiful relationship between Noemi and Gabrielle, but now it is time to get back to business. I suppose many of you are wondering where we get our tanks from, and why there are tanks from the 1950s on a match filled with Second World War tanks? Well, there is a meaning behind this. It is called the 'Renault Rule'.

My name is Aurora Ehrenreich. I am the commander of Team Lobau, the 'Blond Bunnies', and I am here to give you all a history lesson that is unlike anything you will have read in a book. You might think that many of the tanks that you see on the European match fields were all prototypes that never left the blueprints. That is actually not true.

The 'Renault Rule' states that tanks used in competition must be from between the years 1939 and 1960, and must fall within the classification of light, medium, and heavy tanks. Tank destroyers are allowed as long as the gun caliber is not above 13cm. A lot of countries benefit from the rule including France, Sweden, Hungary, and Switzerland.

When France fell to the Nazis in 1940, tank production in France grounded to a halt. Any tanks the French did have on the battlefield were no match for the Panzer Divisions. When the invitation was sent to the French schools that they were required to use Renault R35s and Somua S35s, the French outright refused and brought their own tanks.

On our end, we used the old rule to our advantage as well. Every team out there knows about German Tanks from the Second World War. We decided to take a tank that was supposedly cancelled before any prototypes were made. Fortunately, that was a cover-up by the German Army, and there are now ten Indien-Panzer teams at our school.

When it comes to matches on the European continent, the light and medium tanks are the kings of the battlefield, In France, you see tanks like the ELC-AMX Bis, AMX-13/75, and Bat.-Châtillon 25t AP. In Germany, tanks such as the VK 30.02DB and, of course, the Indien-Panzer are the prominent tanks on the match fields. Our crews love their tanks.

I went up to Commandant Filion while she was cleaning the barrel of the main gun, "Excited to be first into battle?" she asked with a hand on her hip,

"Oh yes, very much so," I replied, and looked at teams talking and laughing amongst each other, especially on my team. They are a fun bunch of girls, and have been so since I became their commander two years ago, "we have trained for our entire time in school for moments such as these," I said with a light smile, "let us not disappoint,"

"With your tanks, you won't disappoint," said Gabrielle Rouchet, Commandant Filion's driver, "your tanks were key in our win against Pravda if anything, Saunders and St. Gloriana would want to either use their light tanks to spearhead an assault or use their heavy tanks as a strong first strike, either way you know we have your back in this,"

"Either way, we must be prepared for anything they will throw at us," I replied back with a smile and friendly salute, and went to see to my crew. They were repainting the symbol on the sides of the turret, and maintaining the tracks and the gun. I went into the turret to check the turret to see if anything got stuck in the revolving mechanism.

"Alright, turret is moving, watch your heads now, ladies," I warned the team, and swung the tank's turret around to see if anything like shrapnel was blocking up the turret traverse. It seemed everything was ready for the match tomorrow, "everything is looking good, good work Blond Bunnies, come now let us get a spot of lunch," I suggested.

My team works hard on and off the tank from exercises to keep in shape to helping our tank run as sweet as butter cookies. Speaking of that, our General-Dean had sent us some EPAs for the week, Menu Type I and IIs which included Lentil Stew with Sausages and Cevapcicci as the main courses. The Lentil Stew is one of my personal favorites.

One of the French teams came to join us for lunch, it was Team Aigel. I decided to make conversation with them, "So I heard when you first got your invitation to compete in Japan, they were requiring you to use Renault R35s and Somua S35s?" I asked, eating a spoonful of lentil stew and cut-up sausage. The commandant nodded lightly to me.

"It was not us, it was the French Committee of Armored Sporting, they fervently refused to use those tanks," said Sabaya Masawi, the French-Algerian,

"That is why we have the tanks we are using, I must say that the 9.0cm gun on your Indien-Panzers packs a real big punch," said Commandant Rousseau, Monika Leben and Anna Madsen made a fist-pound in response. Cherie chuckled, "have you noticed our tanks have earned nicknames, they are now calling the ELC-AMX Bis 'The Green Ghost',"

"You should keep that one, I remember the semi-finals match from last year when we last faced you, trying to hit an ELC-AMX is like trying to swat a fly, good times, good times," Madsen commented, "that modified Jagdpanther from Team Zweihander, you know? The Jagermeister Panther? The teams at Saunders are calling it 'The Super Cat',"

"I heard that one too," said Esmeralda De Maurier whom happened to be walking by, and taking off her kepi after a long day of preparing the tank destroyer for the match, "the girls at St. Gloriana must have seen our match against Pravda on the television, they are nicknaming our AMX 50 Foch 'The Elephant Gun', well, it kind of looks like one,"

"So which country has the most formidable tanks, at least from your experience?" asked Audrey Belmont, one of the crew members of the tank destroyer team, Team St. Martha. A well-named team in my opinion. I think that AMX 50 Foch could probably slay a dragon or two. I lightly sighed with a smile. It is a shame they are not competing.

"I would have to say the Swedish, you do not want to be on the receiving end of an Emil 1951 or a Strv. Lansen, I have seen those tanks eat King Tiger and Panther tanks like butter cookies," I replied, "they love to play in the snow, speaking of that, Pravda has started calling our Indien-Panzers 'Akela', and our crews are called the 'Wolf Pack',"

"Our dean tried to convince the Swedish to bring their tanks over to Japan, they turned us down because the competition is in full swing," said Monika, "on the bright side, they said they would like to compete next year if they get invited by the Japanese," Monika was watching a match on the television between St. Gloriana and BC Freedom.

"Like Team Gripen? Oh yes they will," said Cherie, "I have seen them give the Russians a run for their money, they will send a team like Pravda crying to their mothers,"

Team Gripen is a team from the Gustavus Adolphus School of Armored Combat in Stockholm. They are the premier armored sporting power in Scandinavia. Led by their overall commander Andora Magnusson, she commands four Emil 1951 heavy tanks and four Strv. Lansen light tanks. She is blond-haired and blue-eyed, and very skilled.

Commander Wolf and I have faced her in the past. She is known as the 'Smiling She-Wolf' because she is happy to welcome any challenger on the match field. Her teams are the three time All-European Continental champions. If she beats you, she would give a handshake and a pat on the shoulder and say 'You did well, hope to see you next year'

We have the guns, and we have the skills to be great. With Commandant Filion and Commander Wolfe leading us, I am sure of myself that my crew and I will win with the French for glory to both our schools, "You are our commander," said Anna putting a hand on my shoulder as I looked at our tank, "we are the Blond Bunnies, we can do this,"