Rising Sun's War on Remnant

Prior To Encirclement

Menagerie Desert. Same time as the "Attack on Kuo-Kuana".

Upon the harsh deserts of Menagerie, where the land was desolate with no signs of life in the horizon, a large dust cloud appeared.

Those living in this kind of harsh of environment would know that this is no ordinary dust cloud or sandstorm for all that matters.

Anyone with the right mind who lived in this conditions would know that a sandstorm would be around for at least another few months when the winds were strong and the climate at the right season.

The dust cloud, however, was produced, not by any natural means, but by hundreds of armored vehicles speeding at its highest possible travelling speed in this sandy desert. Reaching towards their desired destination… to be precise, their objective.

Among the vehicles travelling the desert is the newly commissioned Type 8 Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) presented in November of 1948 and immediately went to production began two months later in January 1949.

The structural design of the Type 8 APC has a length of 6.1 meters, with a width of 2.4 meters, and a height of 2.51 meters. Having a total weight of nearly 16 short tons.

It is fitted with three 7.7 mm Machine Gun all of which were mounted, in a WW2-style, ball-fitting, one at the front and one each on both sides in a casemate-style typically seen in warships before and during the First World War, along the left side of the glacis plate with the secondary weapon, the Ho-103 machine gun (otherwise known as the 12.7 mm Type 1 aircraft machine gun), fitted to the APC roof in a trainable turret ring with full 360-degree traverse. The Ho-103 emplacement was slightly protected by a rather smallish personal armored shield, but enough to withstand small arms and artillery shrapnel. the commander sat behind the driver with the driver himself situated at the right side of the hull. There was a complete crew of six including the five machine gunners with additional room for up to twelve combat-ready passengers in the rear compartment.

The design sported six road wheels to a track side with the drive sprocket located at the front hull sides and the return roller at the rear. The track function allowed for improved off road performance over that of similar wheeled systems. Her design was such that she was given a sloping front glacis plate and lower hull with featureless slab sides, a flat rear panel and a squared-off upper hull. The flattened top hull was convenient for the carrying of additional supplies and even extra personnel should the situation dictate it. There were circular access hatches located forward and aft of the upper hull slab.

The Type 8 APC was designed and manufactured by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to replace the aging Type 1 Ho-Ha Half-Truck and Ho-Ki APC as a multi-purpose vehicle intended to be prime movers of heavy artillery, supplies, and, of course, troop carriers. Top road speed was noted to be around 45 km/h.

Alongside with the Type 8 APCs are the Type 3 Chi-To and type 7 MBT, first manufactured in 1944 and '47 respectively.

The Type 3 Chi-To was developed for the sole purpose of being an all-purpose tank, able to provide infantry support, frontline vehicle, and, most importantly, a Tank-to-Tank battle as IJA officers began to theorize that the tanks purpose was no longer used solely as Infantry Support, but as a means to combat other significant Armored Vehicles that are armed with powerful Anti-Tank properties.

The Chi-To was a medium-class tank system, weighing in at 33 Short Tons and armed with a capable long-barrel type 5 75mm man gun (based on a proven anti-aircraft weapon itself based on an original Swedish Bofors design). Armor protection was 75mm at her thickest facings with construction being all-weld. The long-running track assemblies straddled with the hull which sported a low-set superstructure under the turret. The track systems featured seven small road wheels to a track side with a drive sprocket at the front, the track idler at the rear and three track return rollers. The chassis was fitted atop a Bell crank suspension system and powered formerly by a single Mitsubishi AL Type 4 air-cooled V12 diesel-fueled supercharged engine outputting 412 horsepower at 1,800 RPM. It is currently fitted with a powerful Mitsubishi Type 7 engine outputting 570 horsepower at 2,100 RPM. This provided the modified Type 4 with a top speed of 30 mph with a range of 160 miles, in contrast to the 28 mph speed and 155 mile range.