Girls und Panzer: Itachi

5.

Hey.
Hope you're doing alright.
Here's another chapter, and sorry if it took a bit too long :)

Now what do I do?

"Commander, this is Weasel, requesting backup at C15. Our right flank is going to get overrun soon."

Let's hope Ekaterina will choose to be magnanimous and send me some reinforcements. I can't deal with three Shermans at once. At least, not while I'm stuck behind a boulder and being pinned down by constant fire.

"I read you. We're having trouble on the left flank, so the ETA for help is unknown as of now. Hold out for as long as you can."

"Roger that. Weasel out."

I put my walkie-talkie away and punch the T-34's roof, not too hard. I don't want to break my own hand.

"Crap..."

Alright, think. What can I do, with one rusty Russian tin can, against three M4s? Not much.
Conventional tactics won't get me out of this, so it's time to start thinking outside the box. I could fire some smoke and try to run, but I need to hold this flank, at all costs.
What I know is that the three enemy tanks are firing with a precise rhythm, so that they always have one tank ready to fire while one is reloading and the other one just fired.
I mean, I could just stay still, and wait for them to run out of ammo. But that would only be a viable tactic...no, it wouldn't be a viable tactic in any situation. I need to take action before they get cocky and charge me, thus sealing my doom.

"Alright, load smoke. We're trying something, here."

I have no idea if my plan is going to work, but it's my best and only bet.
I climb back inside the tank and start aiming the cannon. I pull the trigger and fire a smoke round which completely obstructs the vision of one or two of them.

"Forward. Get around them from the left."

And so I decide to attempt a suicide charge against three enemy tanks at once. Boy, this is going to be sketchy.
I look through the optics on top of the turret to get a decent field of view as my tank rolls forward. With the tail of my eye, I see one of the enemy Shermans taking a shot and barely missing. If I keep going, they'll lose me in the smoke.

"Load AP."

I'm terrified that the tracks or the suspension might break in the most critical moment, leaving my tank in the same situation as a beached whale. But I have to take risks.

"Keep going, we'll be behind them soon."

As we exit the cloud of smoke, I get a very nice rear view of three Shermans. I see that one is turning to face me, so I aim for it and try a shot on the move, which fortunately hits the M4's engine and knocks it out.

"Keep moving. Load another AP."

The two Shermans are almost lined up for a shot. I need to throw off their aim.

"Drive between them."

I pass right through the gap between the two enemy tanks, with them both firing at the same time and missing. As my T-34 is rolling forward I get a full broadside on one of the two and fire on the move again, taking the second opponent out of the match.

"Hard left."

The remaining Sherman fires. I feel a very strong shockwave from the shot impacting my tank, and I miss a sharp edge with my forehead by a hair as I'm thrown around the fighting compartment.
It looks like the tank is still moving.

"Load another AP and let's finish this."

Suddenly, as I hear the sound of the gun breech being closed, I feel the tank coming to a halt.
I line up the gun with the enemy Sherman and fire right in the center of its hull. And that signs my third kill of the match.
I let out a sigh of relief and grab my walkie-talkie.