“They are a new formation, aren’t they, General?”
The nod was full and unequivocal, as was the broad smile that accompanied it.
‘Ah, one of those new formations.’
Vassilevsky relit his pipe.
“Then it seems we have no problem of note there. Proceed, Comrade Lomov.”
Captain Nomori Hamuda stood silently in front of his tank, his crew lined respectfully behind him. The five of them stood in silence as the Shinto priest performed the Harai ritual of purification, a small array of fruits and vegetables placed on the vehicles hot armour plate.
Despite the fact that the metal beast had been their virtual home for the last month, it was only now, on the verge of action, that Hamuda had permitted them time to conduct the important ceremony.
Like most of the men of the ‘Rainbow’ Brigade, Hamuda had been a member of 3rd Japanese Tank Division, fighting a long and bitter war against the two distinct armies of China. Communist and Republican forces had cooperated and come together to oppose the Japanese occupation in a little known war that claimed millions of lives since its start in 1937.
When volunteers were called for to train with a secret unit, Hamuda immediately put himself and his crew forward for the mission, plucking them from the 17th Tank Regiment and into the unexpected delights of getting to grips with the new presents their covert allies had bestowed upon them.
The five men dutifully bowed on cue, honouring their own particular vehicle as the Harai drew towards its close.
Hamuda appreciate its beauty, but knew nothing of its history.
First, it had been known simply as the VK3002, the product of design work within MAN, or Maschinenfabrik Augsberg-Nürnburg AG as it was more properly known. This particular vehicle had been salvaged from the ruins of the 6th August 1944 Allied Bombing raid on the MAN production line and had been sent off for operational duties on the Russian Front. It was assigned to the commander of 2nd Platoon, 1st Company of Panzer Regiment ‘GD’ of the elite Großdeutschland Panzer-Grenadiere Division. It was lost in its first action during the counter-attack on Wilkowischken in the autumn of 1944. The new Soviet owners used it against the former owners, claiming five kills before the vehicle found its way into the hands of new masters once more. Bulgarian tankers employed her in limited action before she was again sent east on a railway flatbed, but this time, further than even those German engineers who had designed and built her could have envisaged.
To Hamuda and his men, she was affectionately called ‘Masami’, the ‘Elegant Beauty’, and in the Rainbow Brigades’ 1st Tank Company she had thirteen sisters, all equally loved and equally deadly.
To the Germans, she was officially known as the Sonderkraftfahrzug 171, Panzerkampfwagen V Ausf. G.
To any allied serviceman who had encountered her or her sisters before, she was simply known as the Panther Tank, and she was very much to be feared.
The 3rd S.O. Brigade ‘Rainbow’ was the right flank of a Japanese attack intended to cause consternation in Allied circles, aiming as it was for Nanning and points westwards. It was intended to reinforce the excursion that had previously secured a route to the Indo-Chinese border, and to threaten US-Chinese supply routes from India into the vast hinterland of China itself.
The main strike unit had been the Japanese 3rd Tank Division, but concern over the disappearance of an American armoured unit had resulted in the Rainbow Soldier’s temporary reassignment from the Suwabe Detachment to provide strength if a stand-up fight took place.
Leading the 3rd Division’s drive on Nanning was the 6th Japanese Tank Brigade, and it had successfully overwhelmed every impediment posed by the Chinese Nationalist forces, inflicting huge casualties.
This brought cries for help, which prompted the swift redeployment of the 1st Provisional Tank Group, a mixed Chinese and American armoured force.
The Japanese armour was not capable of holding its own in a stand-up fight with modern enemy tanks, and 1st Provisional sported many Shermans and a handful of Hellcat Tank-destroyers, which were all capable of dealing with the standard Type 97 with ease.
Nationalist officers assured the US officer commanding 1st PTG that the Chinese 22nd Division would hold north and south of Xingye, where more favourable terrain meant that the Japanese armour advantage was greatly reduced. A further division of Chinese troops was promised to reinforce the position, especially as the Japanese tank force had been successfully halted and it was likely that a different approach would shortly be made.
Indeed, intelligence suggested that the attacking Japanese forces had moved up two infantry divisions to carry forward the assault, which bottleneck of forces looked particularly inviting for the US officer commanding 1st PTG and for which he planned a stellar coup.
1st Provisional would strike over the Yujiang River at Guiping, driving straight down Route 304, seemingly aiming at Wuzhou.
In reality, leaving the 6th Chinese Tank Battalion to secure their rear, the bulk of the Group would turn right near Baishahe, and follow Route 211 all the way to Rongxian, cutting the Japanese supply lines and placing a powerful force behind the attacking formations.
Some of the armoured infantry, supported by the 4th and 5th Chinese Tank Battalions, would then be detailed to hold the area around Rongxian, securing the area against any Japanese counter-attack.
Lieutenant Colonel Albrighton would then lead his remaining three tank battalions and infantry into the rear of the Japanese assault forces and cause havoc.
The plan was bold and relied on speed and surprise, but the roads were familiar to Albrighton’s Chinese second in command, and Japanese reconnaissance capability was almost nil.
American-Chinese forces: 1st Provisional Tank Battalion of 1st Provisional Tank Group, 2nd Battalion, 66th Infantry Regiment and 22nd Artillery Battalion of 22nd Chinese New Infantry Division, all of 56th Chinese Corps.
Japanese forces: 1st Tank Battalion, 3rd Special Obligation Brigade ‘Rainbow’, temporarily assigned from Suwabe Detachment, attached directly to 63rd Special Army.
The ceremony completed, Hamuda detailed his men to the routine maintenance tasks needed to keep his new thoroughbred operational. With the work in full swing, he moved towards the tank of his second in command, Lieutenant the Marquis Hirohata, who was in conference with the company’s senior NCO, Sergeant-Major Kagamutsu.
As ingrained in them since birth, the two junior men acknowledged their leader with respectful bows as he approached, which were returned in kind.
Kagamutsu and Hirohata had been arguing about the best way to stow their Katana swords when on the road, an argument which had been going on ever since the Company had first received its new vehicles.
Kagamutsu argued that there was no place for a sword inside the fighting compartment, preferring it outside in the tube container holding the barrel cleaning equipment.
Hirohata, carrying his family’s heirloom, a priceless blade crafted by legendary sword smith Hikoshiro Sadamune, preferred to keep his closer to hand, and secured it against the cage stanchions within the tank’s turret.
Thus far, Hamuda had avoided being dragged into the argument, and had every intention of continuing to avoid the on-going squabble by dealing with more mundane military matters.
Despite the differences in station, Hirohata and Kagamutsu were committed friends. The former was a member of the peerage, his father having been granted the title under the Kazoku system for military services to the Emperor, the latter was the son of a fisherman, and even though they had both been brought up within ten miles of each other, they had lived very different lives.