The horizon erupted in fire.
Miho's breath hitched as the first Soviet shells screamed overhead, detonating in geysers of earth behind the German column. The Grossdeutschland Panthers fanned out with mechanical precision, their long 7.5 cm KwK 42s traversing toward the approaching T-34s.
A voice crackled over the German radio net—"Bolschevitze panzer, zwölf Uhr, acht hundert Meter!"
Miho's hands flew to her throat mic. "Hana! Twelve o'clock, T-34s—eight hundred meters!"
Hana's fingers tightened on the gunner's grip. The Panzer IV's turret whined as she swung it forward. Through the optics, the Soviet tanks lurked like wolves in the smoke—low-slung, angular, their 76mm guns already flashing.
"Yukari—AP loaded?" Miho barked.
"Pzgr.39, loaded!" Yukari slammed the shell home with practiced ease, her earlier excitement replaced by grim focus.
"Mako—keep us behind that Panther! Don't let them flank us!"
Mako's drowsy eyes flickered. Her hands danced over the controls. The Panzer IV growled, lurching into cover behind Krüger's lead Panther as a T-34's shell ricocheted off its frontal armor.
"Hana—fire when ready!"
Hana exhaled. The world narrowed to the triangles of the gunsight.
Boom.
The Panzer IV kicked back like a mule. The shell streaked across the field—CLANG!—striking the lead T-34 square in the turret. A gout of smoke erupted from the machine.
The crew got out of their hatch and ran away for cover. Much to Miho's relief. Yukari spoke suddenly, "Nishizumi-dono, our shells are live APCBC but they are made to knock out the tanks not to kill the crew from after penetration effects." Her eyes were gleaming with excitement.
Miho and Hana also remembered this little detail from their tankery regulations handbook. Saori was too busy noting the chatter that came over the radio.
Though happy at this development, Miho didn't celebrate. Two more T-34s were already pivoting toward them. And around them more Soviet and German armour were blowing up one another.
Everyone was playing game of cat and mouse to see who can hit first. Miho decided to adopt a different strategy. Yukari was the one who reminded her how Soviets fight and use their armour.
She also remembered her lessons during her time as a Kuromorimine student and a Nishizumi. So she once again put her hand on the intercom and spoke, "Mako, let's try something different. It might be a hard maneuver but if successful, we can end this faster."
The battlefield was a storm of fire and steel. The Grossdeutschland Panthers traded blows with the T-34s, their superior guns punching through Soviet armor at range while the nimble T-34s tried to close the distance.
Miho's voice cut through the chaos inside the Panzer IV.
"Mako—hard right, flank speed! Hana, turret left, Yukari, load Pzgr.39!"
Mako's fingers twitched over the controls. The Panzer IV's Maybach engine roared as the tank lurched forward, tracks tearing up the earth. Instead of staying in formation with the German armor, Miho's tank veered sharply to the right, cutting across the battlefield at an oblique angle.
A Panther commander nearby shouted over the radio, "Was zur Hölle?! Stay in formation!"
But Miho wasn't listening. She had spotted it—a gap in the Soviet line, where a cluster of T-34s had overextended in their rush to engage the German spearhead.
"Hana—target that T-34 on the far left! He's not looking at us!"
Hana's hands were steady. The turret whined as it traversed. The Soviet tank's side armor was exposed—thin, vulnerable.
The Pzgr.39 round punched clean through the T-34's flank. The tank shuddered, then belched smoke as its crew bailed out, scrambling for cover.
"Hana—next target, that SU-85 behind the ridge!"
Yukari grinned, slotting another shell into the breech. "Pzgr.39 loaded!"
The Panzer IV rolled forward, Mako expertly weaving between shell craters. The SU-85—a Soviet tank destroyer with a powerful 85mm gun—was hull-down, its long barrel tracking another panther after destroying one.
"He doesn't see us!" Hana whispered.
"Take the shot!"
Another thunderous blast. The SU-85's casemate erupted in flames. But no penetration. The vehicle started to turn around to face the Panzer IV. Miho's heart sank.
"Yukari, load Pzgr.40, NOW!" Miho screamed.
Yukari acted fast, "Loaded," she replied within a few seconds. "Hana take the shot at the gun mantlet, fast. Don't let it fire at us."
As the vehicle turned slowly, Hana looked through the Zeiss gunsight and took the shot. The vehicle stopped and its gun was down. The crew got off and ran away.
Miho started to feel like this was just another tankery match. She feeling pleased. Two T-34s and an SU-85 her latest victim, but most importantly the people inside them were safe.
The German net crackled again—this time, it was Krüger's voice. "Good shooting, Mädchen! But don't get cocky—more coming from the treeline!"
Miho's eyes flicked to the distant woods. Sure enough, another wave of T-34s was emerging, their commanders shouting orders. Two Panthers were hit from the flank and blown off.
Mako reversed hard, the Panzer IV sliding behind the burning Panther wreck. Smoke and flame licked the air, crackling around them. Just in time as 76.2mm shell gazed pass their armour missing by a single millimeter.
Miho's heart pounded in her ears. She flicked the throat mic. "Yukari, check ammo!"
"Twelve Pzgr.39 left! Four Pzgr.40!" Yukari called, her voice sharp, focused.
Miho's gaze darted to the treeline — more T-34s were rolling out, guns flashing, their shells screaming across the field. Another Panther to their left took a direct hit, its turret lurching sideways before the whole vehicle erupted in flame.
Two Panthers returned fire sending a T-34 into flames as it's ammo cooked off. Miho saw the scene but chose to ignore it.
Saori's voice wavered over the intercom. "Miporin... what do we do? There's so many..."
Miho swallowed hard. Stay focused.
"Hana — target the lead T-34! Yukari load a Pzgr.39."
Hana's eyes narrowed. The turret swung, lined up — boom — another clean hit. The Soviet tank shuddered, smoke billowing from its engine deck.
Miho exhaled. For a moment, it felt like she was back at Ooarai. Another well-timed flank. Another decisive shot. Another crew forced to bail out.
She watched through the vision slit as the Soviet hatch popped open. The crew scrambled out — four young men in gray coveralls, one helping a limping comrade. They ran, stumbling, toward a small ditch.
Miho's chest loosened. At least they were alive. At least—
The chatter of machine guns cracked through the air.
From the German line, an MG 34 from a Panther opened up, spitting a stream of bright orange tracers across the open field. The running Soviets flinched — then jerked, twisted, collapsed.
Miho's breath caught. No... no, no...
One man fell face-first into the mud, arms still stretched forward. Another crumpled, his body jolting with each impact. The limping soldier pitched backward, eyes wide in shock, a red stain blooming across his chest.
Miho's vision blurred. Her stomach twisted. This wasn't tankery. This wasn't a match. This was war.
Around her, the battlefield raged on. Explosions shook the ground, the radio crackled with orders and curses, Yukari called for another reload, Mako's hands danced over the controls, Hana tracked another target — but Miho's world had narrowed to those lifeless bodies in the mud.
Saori's voice crackled over the intercom, tight and trembling. "Miho... Miho, are you okay?"
Miho squeezed her eyes shut for half a second. She forced herself to breathe. To push it down.
They're depending on me. She opened her eyes, steeled herself, and grabbed the mic.
"Mako, reposition left! Yukari, load Pzgr.39! Hana — next target!"
Though Miho's stomach churning, she couldn't lose focus now. It's either them or my friends she thought. And she had to focus on the enemy for now.
The Panzer IV roared back into motion, Mako weaving them between smoking craters and shattered vehicles. The air was thick with the acrid stench of burning fuel and cordite.
"Hana, right flank! Another T-34 closing in! It is 85 variant" Miho barked.
The turret swung — boom! — the shot glanced off the Soviet tank's driver hatch. Hana cursed softly under her breath, already adjusting aim.
"Yukari, load another Pzgr.40. Mako cover behind the burning half track on the left. Hana fire when ready!"
Yukari slammed another shell into the breech. "Pzgr.40 loaded!"
Miho's fingers clenched around her throat mic. "Fire!"
The Panzer IV jolted. The tungsten-core round punched clean through the T-34's side. Flames blossomed inside as the hatch burst open and the crew scrambled out, scattering. Miho forced herself not to watch.
Above them, the German net crackled again. "Grossdeutschland, halt advance! The Bolshevik panzers are retracting! Regroup on the road."
Miho's pulse thundered in her ears. She switched to the intercom. "Mako, fall back! Stay with Krüger's group!"
Mako's eyes flicked over the controls. "Copy."
As they reversed, Miho looked around the sparsely forested area. The treeline where the Soviets had surged forward was now littered with wrecks — burning Panthers, crumpled T-34s, the smoldering hulks of SU-85s. Both sides had been mauled, but the German line was holding, barely.
The radios crackled with cheers as the division got back on the road in columns. Miho let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.
Saori slumped back against the radio set, trembling. "Did... did we win?"
Miho didn't answer right away. She stared through the periscope at the burning battlefield, the scattered bodies, the shattered machines.
"No," she murmured softly. "We survived."
The Panzer IV rumbled back to it's original position, still alive. For now that is.