[Gekkan Senshadou battle report] St. Gloriana vs. BC Freedom [St. Gloriana]

Line up

St. Gloriana: 1 x Churchill, 9 x Matilda II  

BC Freedom: 5 x Hotchkiss H-39, 3 x M5 Stuart, 1 x B1 Bis, 1 x M4A1 (76mm conversion)   

 

Match overview

         

The match between St.Gloriana and BC Freedom happened in an area similar to a western Europe town, which makes St. Gloriana’s classic “advancing in one beautiful formation” strategy rather difficult to execute.  

   

But St. Gloriana’s Captain Darjeeling came up with a rather daring plan: she was going to run her team straight down the street where BC Freedom has most likely set up an ambush. A column of three Matildas would lead the charge and defeat the bait force BF Freedom sent in, while the maine force led by Darjeeling would follow right behind. Once BC Freedom sprang their trap, Darjeeling will swing her Churchill around and blow apart anything BF Freedom had prepared behind her.  

 

Now St. Gloriana could have easily won with the three leading Matildas alone, since BC Freedom’s M5 Stuarts and Hotchkiss H-39s are no match for anything St. Gloriana fielded, but Darjeeling in the spirit of Noblesse oblige insisted on leading the main force from the front. Such is Darjeeling’s senshadou: not simply to win a match, the captain must always be at the front to show the team how to win.  

 

The match began as St. Gloriana planned: BC Freedom’s Hotchkiss were quickly knocked out once they encountered the vanguard Matildas. Meanwhile, the leading Matilda also found a Char B1 bis in the town square. Darjeeling decided that the town square must be where BF Freedom’s trap was and ordered her whole force full speed ahead to advance on it.  

 

Just as Darjeeling’s Churchill raced past a single lane, the Matilda behind her, commanded by the newcomer to National Tournament, Nilgiri, suddenly brewed up: BC Freedom has placed their converted M4A1 at the end of that road. Meanwhile a pair of M5 Stuarts raced down the other end towards Darjeeling’s Churchill. It seems that St. Gloriana had jumped into a trap slightly ahead of their plan.   

 

But Darjeeling, knowing that Stuarts couldn’t hurt her Churchill, told her visibly shaken loader Orange Pekoe to calm down, ordered driver Ruhuna to reverse the Churchill and point the tank towards where the Sherman was coming. Just as BC Freedom’s Sherman ran across the crossroad, Churchill put a couple shots into its broadside, the second shot whiteflagged the Sherman, which turned out to be BC Freedom’s flag tank.

Darjeeling was seen hurrying off after the match to attend a friendly match with Ooarai Girl’s High School.  

 

Comment: BC Freedom's converted M4A1 Sherman used a 3-in gun from a M10 Wolverine, which makes it more like a Kelly's Heroes Sherman than Alisa's M4A1 (76mm).