The chapter begins with Yukari noting that Katyusha is treating Miho the same way Anchovy did, and that Oarai's opponents "loathe the very sight" of Miho. Again, you may notice a pattern in this series; most of Miho's primary rivals in the tournament- Anchovy, Katyusha and Erika (Maho is still Black Forest's commander, but Erika gets more Character Focus than her in the manga) all look down on her, in contrast to the relatively friendly Darjeeling and Kay. With that in mind, I have to wonder if Anchovy's characterization, and Erika's somewhat larger role was intended to fit this pattern.
The rest of the Oarai team, however, is not deterred, pointing out that they won twice and that they intend to prove that neither win was a fluke. Miho, however, lists all of Pravda's tanks and advises the to go carefully. The scene in which the other members of the tankery team lobby for going on the offensive goes as it does in the anime. Yukari is amazed at how "pushy" the others are, and surprised at Miho's change of heart.
As the Oarai tanks advance, Yukari, sipping some hot chocolate, notes that the T-34 has many advantages over the Oarai tanks; its tracks prevent it from slipping on snow, its sloped armor can deflect a Panzer IV's shells, it's faster than the 38(t) and it can outgun the Panzer IV and StuG. She counts seven of the 76 variant and six of the 85 variant, a total of 13 tanks (I'm not sure, but I think the other two are the IS-2 and KV-2).
The scene in which Mako helps Mallard Team traverse the snow, and Hana shoots the barrier, goes as in canon, albeit in a slightly abridged form. The attack on Pravda's forces also goes similarly to canon, with Yukari excited that they can defeat a T-34/76.
Then comes the part in which the trap is sprung, and they barely make it to the relative safety of the church. Oddly enough, Miho is still calling Mako by her last name, when, in canon, she'd switched to her first name at this point.
Yukari reflects on the damage the tanks suffered, and how Pravda showed its strength through overwhelming firepower.
As you might expect, the surrender scene goes the same way canon does, with one significant change. Yukari knows what surrendering will mean for Miho, and finds it difficult to accept that Miho could willingly resign herself to disinheritance for the sake of her friends.
It's actually somewhat heart-wrenching to see how Miho acts exactly the same way in this scene as in canon, despite knowing what consequences her decision will have for her. As I've said before, Miho is capable of making difficult decisions like this when her principles require it, and is a stronger and more courageous individual than many give her credit for. It might have been nice to see more of her thoughts in this scene; this is one situation in which a Miho-centric POV might have been better.
But one other thing is the same as canon- the Student Council choosing this moment to announce what is at stake. The chapter ends at exactly the same point Episode 8 did, which is a relative first.
The manga is 21 chapters long, so at a little over halfway through, we're three fourths of the way through the anime's events. As one might imagine, the pacing is a little odd, and skewed more toward the end of the story.
Next Installment: Once again, Oarai must find a way out of their present situation for the sake of keeping thir school open.
