Girls Und Panzer: Mother Russia
Chapter 2: Working Together
Today was the day we met our tank hunter crews from Team Drakon and Team Grifon. These commanders are Tatiana Sorokina of Team Drakon and Svetlana Moskovskaya of Team Grifon. I was joined by Irina Ivanova of Team Yastreb. We are teams that, as Americans say, are ready to make some noise, "Good to see you Commanders," said Tatiana,
"You too," I said saluting followed by shaking her hand, "Two tanks, two tank hunters,"
"Good odds for any Russian," said Svetlana, "the Japanese won't know what hit them,"
We immediately got down to working on exercises, and tactics that we will use in competition, "When you each pick off two tanks from the field, move in behind us and give support," I radioed to our tank hunter units. I got a 'roger!' from the commanders. We have the mobility and the firepower to duel with anything the Japanese can throw at us.
"Be careful, you never know what tanks the Japanese Teams will have," said Irina,
"Roger, Ivanova," I replied, "it is never wise to underestimate your opponent,"
Some joke that we Russian crews are built just like our tanks. In a world that used to be male dominated in times of war, you learn to not be self-conscious of height or weight. For example, I am 5'7 and 150lbs, just about the average among most students at this schools. I can say that confidently. Some other students are a little above or below that.
"These trails are pretty in the wintertime," said Zorina, our team driver,
"True, then we ruin the tranquility with the sound of tank engines," joked Tatiana,
Zorina is a brunette with spiky and short hair. Her hair would perk up like the ears of a cat if she is startled. She has pretty brown eyes, and a slight hint of tan to her skin from the times she visits her parents and they take her to the beach so she says. The SU-122-44s were covering our front and our rear while we took the center in moving formation.
"Target in sight, hatches down!" I ordered as the field targets on the range were coming up,
Natalya had a shell loaded into the breech, "Hold the shot, let's see what a tank-hunter can do,"
I peered out of the hatch on the roof of the turret. I felt the breeze from the blast and had to hold back my cap and goggles as the cannons roared, and hit the target with great accuracy from a distance. If you put it in a different perspective, our T-44s are the infantry or main strike force of our combined teams. An SU-122-44 can be considered a sniper
We were using burnt out King Tigers as gun range targets, "Good show," radioed Irina,
"I must say I am impressed as well, you will prove to be very vital to our crews," I added in,
After hours of training, it was time to eat and rest. We use the same IRP in the field as Russian soldiers. In a ration, you get foods like Beef Kasha, Tushonka, Pashtet, Meatballs in Gravy, Salo and other food items. We Russians are thankful to you Americans for making our meal times more flavorful. We find that Tabasco is great on Kasha and Tushonka.
"I would go to Japan just to eat food, something different for a change," remarked Natalya,
"The chocolate spread is nice for the army loaves, why can't we have cabbage rolls?" Tatiana pondered,
"Yes, cabbage rolls will be lovely," I agreed, as I was eating some Salo on a cracker, I would tell the crews to stop complaining, but they make a fair point. Other than competing against the Japanese Teams, I think one of the other reasons is to try new things and meet new people. Get to know us a little bit if you can, we Russians are a friendly people.
"I hear we get to be in a parade in Moscow before we are sent off to Japan," said Svetlana
"Let's hope the Japanese don't accuse us of doping, how do you dope in armored combat?" pondered Irina,
The others shrugged at the thought, and shrugged it off. After a days training, we went back to Kursk. More of the same awaited us day in and day out. Our crews were growing anxious. We kept up our training on the trails, and on the target range. The Japanese Teams have more tanks. Numbers are meaningless. Look at the Spartans at Thermopylae.
"When we get to Japan, we continue these exercises, we cannot underestimate our opponents," I stated,
The crews were gathered in a half-circle around the fire, "Yes ma'am!" they said in perfect unison,
"The main things to do when we compete against the Japanese: fight hard, fight fair, have fun. That is armored combat, this sport is only a part of our lives, it is not life or death out there in the field," I praised to the crews, "remember this ladies, we are Russians, win...or lose, we go back to Russia with heads held high, our people will be proud of us,"
"A fine speech, Agapova," said a voice behind me, I turned to see my aunt. We stood at attention, and saluted,
"At ease, ladies, I came to see what progress you have made, and it seems you all made a lot," said my aunt,
"Anyway, I have good news, our ship for the competition in Japan is the Admiral Kuznetsov," my aunt explained, this was a big moment for all of us, "now then, you will have a marching procession outside the Kremlin so that the people and your families will be seeing you off," my aunt reached down, and ruffled my hat to the giggling of the tank crews
"Really auntie? In front of the crews?" I groaned, sometimes being her niece has it's downsides,
Aunt Irina giggled, "I do it because I love you, you should know that,"