Chapter 44: Legacy of Tannenberg
Clouds of smoke burst from the engine decks of Oarai's rear tanks. The smoke rose into the air like a cloud and completely obscured Kuromormine's sight of Oarai's tanks. Erika frowned in frustration and disapproval. "How cowardly, hiding behind smoke," she commented.
"Continue the pursuit," Maho ordered.
Oarai quickly raced toward the base of the hill. At the rear, Mallard and Luca Team swerved back and forth to spread the smoke as far as possible. With haste, the team reached the hill without giving Kuromormine a shot. As they climbed onto the hill, Leopon's electric motor drives started straining under the weight of the heavy tank. "Commander, we're overstressing the motors! I don't think we can keep going," Tsuchiya called out.
"Keep it slow and steady, downshift if you need to," Nakajima advised, "captain, we might need to fall back."
"That's not an option, you'll be falling back directly into Kuromormine's sights," Miho replied. I'm not losing Leopon too! She thought with determination. She brainstormed ideas for a moment when she remembered the towing cables they keep stored in every tank. "Asuza, I need you to get your tow cable and hitch it to the left front hitch of Leopon!" she directed, "Yukari, hand me our tow cable!"
"Yes ma'am!" Yukari exclaimed and reached into a storage compartment in the hull. She pulled out a steel wire towing cable. Miho took it gratefully and climbed out of the turret. As she carefully stepped onto the engine deck of their moving tank, she could see the M3 Grant close beside her with Asuza doing the same.
"Alright, we need two people from Leopon to climb out and hitch these tow cables to their tank," Miho instructed over her radio.
Hoshino and Nakajima climbed out of the Porche Tiger's turret with their respective hatches and carefully crawled down onto the front hull. "Ready?" Miho called out.
"Ready!" they called back. Miho and Asuza each took a deep breath. They hitched the cable to tow links on their own tanks and then tossed the steel cables toward Leopon Team. The spindles flew through the air and slightly unwound, but we were skillfully caught by Hoshino and Nakajima. The hard part was over. The pair gave Miho and Asuza a thumbs-up once the cables were fastened.
Miho and Asuza hurriedly, but carefully climbed back into their tanks. "Karina, Mako, I need you to give the engines as much power as you can to relieve Leopon's motors," Miho instructed. The drivers obliged and their engines picked up the pace.
"Alright, it's working!" Tsuchiya exclaimed. The motor and engine temperatures were falling to regular levels and the vehicle sounded less stressed.
"Alright!" Azusa and Miho cheered.
A short distance from the base of the hill, Erika looked through her binoculars. "What kind of stunt is that?" she asked incredulously.
"It looks like they're towing the Porsche Tiger," Maho replied.
"Should we pursue them up the hill?" Erika asked.
Maho nodded in response. By the time Kuromormine reached the base, Oarai had already reached the top of the hill. At the hilltop, the ground was slightly recessed, meaning there was a lip at the edge of the hill before it dropped and formed a natural barrier. "Alright, time to face the enemy!" Miho declared. The Panzer IV stopped and took the central position facing Kuromormine. The M3 Grant, Char B1 Bis, and StuG III parked to their right while the MTLS-1GI4, Semavente 75/18, and Porsche Tiger parked to her left.
Kuromormine's tanks drove over the base of the hill and stopped once they were angled enough to aim their guns at Oarai. A brief period of tension existed before the orders were given. "Sturmpanzers, soften them up!" Erika demanded. Her Tiger II and Maho's Tiger 1 were a distance away from the frontline force on the hill and out of Oarai's range. The Jagdtigers protected the Tiger 1 from frontal fire while the Tiger IIs protected the rear.
The Brummbärs fired their low-velocity guns first. The shells landed just shy of Oarai's line but exploded with incredible energy that blasted their tanks with dirt. "Return fire with smoke!" Miho ordered. Oarai's guns responded once they were loaded and fired a salvo of shells that raced toward Kuromormine.
The commanders of the frontline tanks braced for impact. They trusted their thick armor would protect them and that they would be able to strike with Oarai completely exposed. But when the shells hit their targets, a cloud of white smoke burst from the shells and completely covered Kuromormine's frontline. One of the commanders of a Panther sneered, "Really? Smoke shells? That's so cowardly."
"Frontline, advance out of the smoke and fire," Erika commanded. In response, the tanks began inching forward, straining their engines to continue up the hill.
"All tanks, launch the trap!" Miho demanded. In the distance, the scream of rockets filled the air until they were outclassed by the roar of Wildcat Team's 8-inch howitzer. Then a shrill whistle pierced the air. Kuromormine's commanders snapped their heads to their right. The T1E1, Type 100, Tiger H2, KV-1K, and T-VI-100 approached and barely hung onto the hillside at an awkward angle. They stopped and settled their guns onto their targets.
Then the artillery struck. Once more, Kuromormine's frontline was set alight with repeated rocket strikes. A firestorm descended on the line of tanks Erika grit her teeth in frustration at her force's suppression. Inside the blast, it was pure, unrestrained chaos. Blasts of fire ripped the ground, sending dirt and debris into the air with each impact. "Rear tanks, fire on the flanking tanks," Maho commanded calmly.
"Yes ma'am!" the commanders, including Erika, replied. The Jagdtigers rotated slightly to their right to aim their guns at Tannenburg Group. The Tiger IIs followed by rotating their turrets. Right before they fired; however, something burst from the smoke cloud in the air ahead of them. Meadowlark Team soared through the air so fast that the rear tanks could barely react as it quickly approached.
"Protect the flag tank!" Erika demanded. The tanks that were supposed to provide rear fire support turned away from their target and reversed to surround Maho's Tiger I.
"Gunner, fire a high explosive shell at the flying tank," Maho ordered.
Her loader quickly loaded an Sprgr. L/4.5 round into the Tiger's infamous 88mm gun. As the breech clicked shut, the gun swung into the air and aimed at the flying tank racing toward it. Melitta stared at the gun unflinchingly. The Tiger's gunner fired. The moment the muzzle flashed, Melitta yanked the right control lever back to swing the flying tank to the left. The right wing rose as the tank rotated, and the shell flew harmlessly under it. Melitta quickly corrected the flying tank and dove at Kuromomrine's flag tank.
She glared through her periscope confidently with a smirk. "I have you now!" she declared as her periscope reticle settled on the flag tank. She excitedly squeezed on both her rocket triggers. The launchers spat fire out of the tubes as all remaining five rockets were launched in quick succession. She quickly pulled the flying tank out of its dive and eagerly listened for the news of the eliminated flag tank.
"Brace," Maho stated without fear. The rockets hit the team of tanks with a sizable explosion. The flag tank was shaken, but they were not knocked out when the smoke cleared. One rocket did get lucky and impacted the roof of the left Jagdtiger. It had a nasty scorch mark on the roof and the white flag waved above it.
Melitta looked back through her periscope and frowned. "Aww man, we didn't get them!" she pouted with a sigh, "I guess that would've been too easy-" She was interrupted when her left wing was suddenly shredded to pieces.
The crew of the Kugelblitz that had been pursuing watched as the flying tank spun out of control. "Do you think it's safe for us to shoot it down like that?" the gunner asked.
The commander shrugged while she reloaded the ammunition magazine. "They field it, they know the risks, and they accepted them. We're not guilty of anything if they get hurt," she nonchalantly answered.
Melitta and Manfred screamed and cursed as the flying tank was rapidly losing its ability to fly. Without the left wing, the right wing spun them around in the air as they dove closer and closer to the ground. They both squeezed their eyes shut and braced themselves. The M1932 slammed into the ground nose-first. The right-wing crumpled under the force of the tank's spin as it slammed into the ground. The left front corner of the hull dug into the soil as it shook the ground with its impact. The rear of the hull slammed down on the ground and bounced with the Christie suspension. As the tank settled, Melitta gently patted herself and the area around her bewilderingly. "W-we're okay? Nothing's broken right?" she asked.
"I think I'm going to hurl…" Manfred moaned as he held his head in his hands.
Melitta looked over her gauges. Although the impact seemed to have broken the connecting rod between the propellor and the engine, the engine was still working and outputting RPMs. She carefully grabbed the detaching lever and pulled it back. The propellor and what was left of the wings broke off and fell behind them. She then shifted the tank back into gear and pushed the steering levers forward again. "Come on, come on," she whispered. The tracks flung off the suspension wheels and the tank crawled out of the hole it had dug at the impact site. "Alright! We don't need tracks anyway!" she exclaimed. She pulled out a steering wheel from under her seat and attached it to the steering column between the control levers.
"I don't think I can take much more…" Manfred moaned.
"Come on Manfred, pull yourself together!" Melitta demanded, "we're not done yet-"
A barrage of 30mm armor-piercing rounds blasted their frontal armor, stopping the tank in its tracks. Mellita emptily stared out of her periscope as it filled with smoke. In the distance, the Kugelblitz continued to glare at her. "I guess we are done…" she said dejectedly.
"Oh thank God…" Manfred moaned and fell against his gunsight.
"Well they started moving without the medical flag, I'm sure they're fine," the Kugelblitz commander said.
"I guess so," her gunner replied.
000
"Fire!" Lisette ordered. The Type 100 stormed forward across the hillside. Tandy had to consistently adjust his levers to keep the tank planted on the incline, but it was just shallow enough for them to hold on. Jody focused on the closest tank she could see through the rocket strikes and pulled the trigger. Immediately after the gun fired, the tank veered left awkwardly to miss the Jagdpanther that was mere feet from them. The shell blasted the side of the tank destroyer and knocked it out.
As the Type 100 spun around the destroyed tank, Lisette saw a Sturmpanzer 43 rotating to face her near the edge of the front. "Stupa, dead ahead!" she warned.
"We got you!" Katrina replied. "Fire on that Sturmpanzer!" Her Tiger shifted to face the Sturmpanzer 43. "Fire!" she commanded. The 100mm gun roared and blasted the Sturmpanzer with its shell as the assault gun turned. After a short explosion, the white flag popped out. "Alright! Next target!" Katrina called out. A reversing Panther came into her sight. "Perfect, take out the reversing Panther!"
A pair of shells blasted the Panther's side. The largest shell hit the armored skirts and destroyed the tread and a pair of roadwheels while the smaller shell hit the turret causing a small scorch mark and knocking the Panther out. The T1E1 lumbered past the T-VI-100 with a smoking gun.
High above the chaos, Miho looked down into the smoke and accessed the situation. "Main Team, begin supporting Tannenburg Group," Miho ordered.
In response, the main Team crept forward over the lip of the hill. It took a brief moment in all the chaos and explosions for each of them to acquire a target, but once their guns were ready, the armada unleashed a flurry of shells down onto their enemy. The shells kicked up a massive cloud of dirt and dust as they exploded across the hillside. The artillery strikes spread the cloud further, causing it to envelope all the tanks on the hillside. Hana furrowed her brow as she glared through her gunner's sight, but all she could see was a mass of dirt and dust. "Miho, I can't get a shot with all this dust," she informed.
Miho frowned as she looked through the periscope. "Tannenburg Group, what is your status?" she requested.
"Not bad, not good. We're blind, but so are they," William reported. Suddenly a massive crash was heard through the radio. He grunted in pain as his forehead hit his periscope. In front of the Tiger H2 was one of Kuromormine's Jagdpanzer IV/70(V)s with a scratch on the side of the hull where his Tiger had hit them. "Reverse, then fire!" William ordered.
The Tiger crept backward before its gun could aim down at the tank destroyer ahead of it. Then the L/70 gun roared and blasted the Jagdpanzer at point-blank range to knock it out. "We got another Jagdpanzer IV," he reported.
Maho stared at the destruction ahead of her unflinchingly. It seems that we've perhaps rushed in a little early. The boys aren't performing half badly… she thought before raising her hand to her throat to activate her microphone. "All frontline units, fall back with your frontal armor facing the enemy and regroup," she ordered.
Erika looked at Maho with an almost aghast look on her face. "Are you ordering them to retreat?" she asked warily.
"Yes," Maho answered decisively. As she lifted the binoculars back up to her eyes, she saw the first Jagdpanzer IVs retreat from the cloud. Their earth-yellow paint was stained with a layer of dust and dirt. Scratches also covered the tank destroyers. Finally, the remaining Sturmpanzer 43s retreated from the cloud and off the hillside.
"Let's go! Let's go! We've got them on the run!" Lisette shouted. The Type 100 spun around in the cloud of dust to give chase to the retreating tanks.
"Negative, do not pursue them," Miho ordered.
"What? Why? We've got them on the run!" Lisette asked.
"We'll be exposed and unorganized. You'll be a sitting duck for their rear units," Miho answered. "Artillery cease firing," she ordered. She took a deep breath and stood out of her cupola. The dust was starting to disperse and they could see the sky again. More importantly, though, she could look down on Kuromormine's regrouping. The five tanks that were tasked with shooting down Meadowlark Team were added to their main force. As she quickly counted the remaining tanks, she noticed something peculiar. They only have 17 tanks down there and we've only taken out six tanks. That means they're holding two tanks in reserve somewhere. Perhaps they're looking for our artillery…
"Well, we're out of rockets anyway," Canaveral responded.
"Okay, keep guarding Wildcat Team," Miho instructed.
"You got it Captain!" Canaveral eagerly replied.
Miho looked over the battlefield with her binoculars again. "Alright, now we'll take the initiative. Operation: Teasy Tease is a go," she declared over the radio.
000
From the forests on each side of the field, four devious tank crews peeked out of the foliage. Pheasant and Eagle Team, the Type 95 Ha-Go and T22E1 Medium respectively were ready to strike from one side while on the other, Turtle Team and Duck Team in the Stormartillerievagn M/43 and PT-1A were ready to strike from the other. "You guys ready to cause a little bit of trouble?" Anzu asked with a cheeky grin as she pressed her face against the gunsight.
"Girl, I was born to raise hell! Let's go!" Patty declared. As the T22E1 lurched forward she jumped on the roof of her tank. She quickly regained her balance and pulled a flare gun out of her waist holster. She quickly pulled the trigger after she raised it in front of her and a canister shot out of the pistol. Eagle Team burst from the forest just as she fired.
Out of the corner of her eye, Erika saw the tank rushing forward. "What in the world?!" she asked incredulously as she saw Patty surfing the roof of her tank. Just as she saw the T22E1; however, the canister burst into a cloud of smoke that obscured the tank. Erika grunted in frustration. "These little brats love their smoke…" she muttered. "Tank approaching rapidly from the right, be ready to fire once you see it!" she exclaimed.
The PT-1A ramped over the edge of a ditch that bordered the field and the forest. It caught just a little air before slamming back onto the ground. The 45mm gun fired and sent a smoke shell into the ground in front of it. Before the smoke burst from the shell, Anzu aimed the Sav M/43's gun at a Panther at the edge of the flank. She clicked the trigger just as the smoke shell exploded and sent a large HEAT shell into the cloud. "Alright, let's get in there!" she demanded cheerfully.
"Right!" Yuzu replied. She pressed the steering levers forward and sent the assault gun forward.
"Panthers cover the flanks," Maho ordered, "hold your fire until they emerge from the smoke. Tank destroyers maintain front-firing positions to cover the rest of Oarai's team." The Panthers began to move to the edges of the flanks, but one was suddenly struck by Turtle Team's shell. The 105mm HEAT round blasted the side of the Panther, causing an explosion that threatened to engulf the tank. Thankfully, it didn't, but the white flag popped out of the roof, signifying an elimination.
"Wooohooo!" Patty cheered as she felt the 75mm gun of the T22E1 fire, threatening to toss her off the tank. But her feet stuck to the roof as the T22E1 raced towards Kuromormine's team. They burst from the smoke to see a Panther turning toward them. "Get that Panther!" she shouted to her radio. As they approached, she grabbed a handle of something on her belt before pulling it free from a long leather sleeve.
"Is that?" the Panther commander wondered as Eagle Team closed in. "Why does she have a cavalry saber?" she questioned.
"She must be crazy," her radio operator added. Suddenly, their tank shook as a 75mm shell shattered their right treads.
Eagle Team swerve left right before they slammed into the Panther. As they passed, Patty swung her saber to strike the Panther's turret, leaving a scratch in the paint and generating a few sparks. To finish it off, the T22E1's tracks kicked up a cloud of dirt as it drifted past and covered the Panther. Patty laughed as they sped away.
Miho stared at Patty's antics with bewilderment. "Patty what are you doing?!" she asked anxiously.
"Causing chaos!" Patty responded joyfully as she slashed at another Panther.
"Why do you need to be on your tank's roof?!" Miho asked.
"It'll make one hell of a story!" Patty answered gleefully. The T22E1 reached the center of Kuromormine's formation while the Panthers struggled to keep up with the fast-moving troublemakers. "Think you can do a burnout with a tank?" she asked.
"Fuck it, why not?" Jennifer replied as she swung the steering levers around. The tank with all its momentum started to spin clockwise and began kicking up a mess of dirt and dust.
"Woohoo!" Patty cheerfully gleefully while she spun on top of the tank. Bystanders watched the scene with a mix of concern and bewilderment as the girl spun around with arms spread out and the saber glistening in the sunlight that poked through the growing dust cloud.
"Alright, fun times over!" Erika growled, "take that excuse of a tank commander out!" The nerve of her to make a mockery of Sensha-do like this!
Just as the long 88mm fired, the T22E1 spun out of the shell's course and the round flew past. But it did grab Patty's attention. "Alright, let's go hunting for a King Tiger!" she declared as the T22E1 slowed its spin and faced the Tiger II. She pointed her saber forward and the medium tank charged forward. "Get her tracks!" she demanded.
Nora replied with a round straight into the Tiger II's tracks that shattered the treads into many pieces. Then Jennifer swung the tank to the right to miss the stricken Tiger II. But Patty wasn't done with the King Tiger yet. She reached into her jacket and flipped a switch. Suddenly her boots no longer gripped the roof of the T22E1 and she leaped onto the hull of the King Tiger. From the hull, she scrambled onto the turret roof to stand above Erika.
"What in the world are you doing?!" Erika shouted.
Patty smirked and aimed the tip of her saber at Erika. "Just dropping by!" she replied jokingly. As Eagle Team swung back around the Tiger II she lept off the Tiger II and back onto the T22E1. She flipped her hidden switch again and her boots stuck to the turret roof again.
"Patty, stop with the stunts!" Miho demanded with concern, "I don't want you to get hurt!"
Patty just chuckled. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. I'm very familiar with this kind of troublemaking," she replied.
"That's not a good thing!" Miho replied.
"It is to me!" she countered jokingly.
Miho frowned as she looked through her binoculars. Small craters, shattered tracks, and dust clouds covered the field. While over the top and reckless, Patty's antics, combined with the other teams' hit-and-run attacks were proving effective. "Everyone, we're going to rush down the hill and bypass Kuromormine to the left. In this direction, there is a town where we will split Kuromormine's forces up and pick them off one by one. The flag tank will stay in the center of our formation, while I want our heavy elements to focus on our right and our rear. Guerrilla Group, I want you to keep doing what you're doing. Saori, give Wildcat Team a firing mission but make sure the coordinates aren't in our path. Understood everyone?" she explained.
Everyone sent in their affirmative. The heavy tanks of Tannenburg Group moved forward at the spearhead while Saori radioed to Wildcat Team. When the first strike from Wildcat Team hit the frontline, it hit the perfect spot to disrupt Kuromormine's firing line of Jagdpanzer IV/70(V)s. The explosion shook the tank destroyers and caused their drivers to reverse slightly. "Forwards! Give them hell!" William demanded. The Tiger H2 of Atrox Team led the way down the hill. Right next to it was Hyena Team to his right and Chamois Team to his left. The tanks barreled down the hill at an ever-increasing speed leading the way.
Duck Team's PT-1A sped away from an incoming 75mm shell from one of Kuromomrine's Panthers. "You're going to need a better spike than that!" Shinobu taunted. Akebi spun the turret around as it passed the Panther and slammed down the trigger of the 45mm shell to send a shot into its tracks. Metal fragments scattered from the explosion as the PT-1A sped away.
"Enough of this mockery! Take. Them. Out!" Erika demanded to her gunner. The King Tiger's turret slowly rotated to a target. Immediately it found Patty again.
The T22E1 faced the King Tiger again as Erika's loader scrambled to slam a shell into the monstrous 88mm gun. Patty had only one response. "You will not deny me my Freebird solo!" she shouted as the turret machine gun of the T22E1 started spitting out bullets. Sparks lit up the King Tigers gun sight as Eagle Team sped to the King Tiger's left, undamaged track. The turret of the Tiger II just couldn't keep up with Eagle Team's speed as they sped away, infuriating Erika even more. She glared as the 75mm gun of the T22E1 fired again and shattered her left track. Now both of her tracks were destroyed and Eagle Team was still on the run. Erika punched a bare section of the cupola's wall in frustration.
Suddenly, the rear of the T22E1 burst into flames. An explosion rocked the tank and caused it to slide to a stop. "What?!" Patty shouted. A Panther slowly turned its turret back to the frontline and began moving forward again. "Aw man, they must have jumped out of formation to get us…" she said dejectedly as she turned her hidden switch back off and jumped back into her turret.
"Good luck with the rest of the match guys," Harriet said into her radio. As she turned it off, she leaned back and looked up at Patty. "Say, you never did tell us how you got your boots to stick to the roof like that. How'd you do it?" she asked.
"Oh right, Joseph put electromagnets in my boots that I can turn on and off with this switch by cutting their power source," Patty explained while pulling out the little red switch from her jacket pocket.
"All that so you can ride your tank with a cavalry saber… pretending you're charging the enemy like it's 1865?" Nora asked.
"Yep! And I bet it confused the hell out of those Kuromormine girls," Patty replied with a satisfied smile on her face. "Well, we did our best and caused a mess. I believe that means our job is done?"
000
Hey all, sorry for the pause in uploads. Life just gets in the way of things and all that. Don't worry, I refuse to abandon this story this close to the conclusion. I'll try to really get to work on this story to finish it, because a lot is coming up fast! Thank you for everything and I'll see you next chapter.
Next Time on Girls und Panzer: Tank Aces!
Chapter 45: The Last Stand of the Black Eagle!