Girls und Panzer and the Wundermotor

The Tigers:

Lennard sat underneath a canopy, a warm sun in the sky and a cool breeze in the wind. To his right, his fellow Tiger 1 commander Carl sat watching the ongoing spectacle. To his left, Maho Nishizumi sat, her Vice-Commander leading the tanks of Kuromorimine in shooting and driving practice. "So, how are they?" Maho asked without turning, keeping an eagle eye over her team.

Lennard looked up from painting his helmet. "They're good, but I personally think they need to be less rigid." Lennard watched as the Tigers, Panthers, Tiger IIs, Panzer III and IVs rumbled along the massive open field in a Panzerkeil, heavy tanks up front, lighter tanks in the back. The formation halted at Erika's command, before each tank began to scope out targets hidden in a small forested hill area.

"Fire!" At Erika's command, the tanks fired, filling the few seconds of silence created by their halt with the thundering of guns. The shells flew straight and true, bombarding the hill and taking out the targets. But when the smoke cleared, a few were still standing. "Damn. Fire at will!"

As the guns continued to fire at their targets, Maho glanced over at Lennard and his painting project. "The Afrika Korps Emblem?"

"[Ja.]" Lennard continued to use whitish-tan paint to create the famous Afrika Korps seal, swastika included, except it was facing left, not right. "Hmmm...Eh, it's not facing right, and it's straight, so it should be fine..." he muttered before he set the helmet down to try, wiping off any excess paint. "I used to be in the Afrika Korps, but I think everyone knows what happened to them."

"I see. What about you, Carl?" Maho turned to the more excited looking tanker, who wore the typical Wehrmacht tankers uniform in field grey with the matching cap.

Carl looked up, grinning. "Afrika Korps too, [madchen.] Me and Lennard were the Tiger duo before we got pushed out by the Allies. Then we spent some time fighting in France before we were pulled to join the Stahlratts."

Maho nodded in simple acknowledgement. "What was your tactic? And your statistics, if you don't mind telling."

"We would have a smaller force of Panzer IIIs and IVs act as a distraction while we flanked around. That way we could defeat heavier tanks like the Churchill while our heavy armor was facing them." Carl explained calmly.

"Interesting. The Nishizumi Style is similar to the Blitzkrieg. We attack in a tight formation so as to maximize effectiveness in armor and firepower. That way we can make sure any frontal assault wipes out our foes."

Lennard finally spoke up again. "That fits this school's theme. However, I can already see the flaws in it. What if someone flanks you? What if you fight in more tight or messy terrain? What if you are split up?"

"Fine points to make. That's why we're training to use Medium and Light tanks in our formations. That way they'll be able to deal with the lighter vehicles while the heavies duel the enemy heavies if they have any."

"Hmmmm," Lennard stopped to think. "Perhaps you could get some pointers from Hans or Commander Faber. They're experts at flanking. Did they ever tell you about what they did before the Stahlratts?"

"We did not, Lennard." The three twisted around to see an all too familiar face briskly walk towards the stands. Adjusting his peaked cap, Faber continued. "I was an Oberleutnant in the 7th Panzer Division, and Hans was an Obergefreiter, he commanded a combined squadron of Panzer II and Panzer IIIs. I myself, I helped Erwin Rommel formulate plans."

Maho raised an interested eyebrow at the appearance of the general. "Oh, it's you, Eisenherz. What's your rank now?"

Faber answered crisply. "Generaloberst, leader of the 41 soldiers of the Stahlratts [Tankeinheit.]" Faber took a seat near them, watching the formation lead by Erika, which had destroyed the targets and were beginning to move again in a spearhead formation. "Combining Heavy and Medium tanks...A good strategy if you ask me."