Strike Witches: Road to Berlin (2020)
Two months into her medical studies at the University of Lausanne in Helvetia, Yoshika Miyafuji receives a visit from Mio Sakamoto and Keisuke Hijikata in early November, 1945, though their reunion is quickly interrupted by news of a potential Neuroi attack on a Venezian battleship captained by the father of one of Yoshika's local friends. Flying from the Alps to the coast, Yoshika, and later the rest of the Strike Witches attempt to stop a Neuroi from crashing a massive iceberg into the port of Antwerpen in Belgica, however their efforts fail and the port facilities are destroyed.
With the loss of the deepwater port at Antwerpen, humanity's plans for a push on occupied Karlsland, with the goal of retaking Berlin, must be put on hold for several months until the port can be rebuilt. In the meantime, the 501st JFW is reassembled and stationed in Den Helder, Nederland. With Mio having aged out of her magic several months prior, the Imperial Fuso Navy now officially assigns a replacement, one Shizuka Hattori. With other members not far off aging out themselves, the Strike Witches must prepare for the upcoming operation to liberate Berlin, deep in the heart of Neuroi-occupied territory.
Strike Witches: Road to Berlin is a follow-up to Strike Witches: The Movie; it is the first story to be set after the events of The Movie since that film released in 2012.
For more in-depth explanations of the lore and setting of the World Witches universe, see the first season's page.
Warning: Some descriptions and images are spoilers for the series, read at your own risk.
The following weapons were used in the anime series Strike Witches: Road to Berlin:
Pistols
Browning M.25
The Browning M.25 (the Dutch military designation for the FN Model 1922, in .380 ACP) is seen in the holsters of two officers at the Schelde Fort, a coastal artillery installation at the mouth of the river of the same name. The pistols themselves are not seen outside their holsters, however this was the standard sidearm of the Dutch military at the time.
The base commander and his subordinate can both be seen with holsters, while the three other soldiers in the room are unarmed. (Ep.2)
A closer shot of the two officers as the subordinate attempts to call for reinforcements, showing more detail of their uniforms, including the holsters for their M.25s. (Ep.2)
Colt M1873
General Gerald S. Patton carries a custom Single Action Army revolver very similar to the one carried by the real George S. Patton. Patton's revolver is an engraved 4.75" Civilian model with ivory grips, though the World Witches depiction differs in being gold-plated rather than nickel. Charlotte Yeager also carries an M1873 Civilian (blued with wood grips) in a left-handed shoulder holster (presumably for easier access if her BAR is still in her right hand) which she lends to Gertrud Barkhorn as a lightweight backup weapon for a sortie against a particularly dangerous Neuroi.
Two custom Single Action Army revolvers with 4.75" barrel, ivory grips, and engravings - .45 Long Colt. The bottom is the 'hero gun' from
Patton, while the top is the actual SAA carried by Patton.
Colt M1873 "Civilian" - .45 Long Colt
General Patton holds his Colt after firing three rounds into a map table, frustrated at having to delay Operation Southwind due to losing the port at Antwerpen. (Ep.3)
With that apparently not being enough to vent his frustration, Patton then slams his fist down on the table, showing a surprisingly detailed shot of the bottom of the revolver. The Japanese subtitles listing his name and position are unfortunately not removable. (Ep.3)
A wider shot immediately afterwards, showing his SAA is indeed the Civilian model. To the right of Patton is General Oscar Bradley, Mio Sakamoto, and Minna-Dietlinde Wilcke. At the end of the scene Patton fires the remaining three rounds into the table again. (Ep.3)
Gertrud Barkhorn, having put on muscle and ditched as much weight from herself and her striker unit as possible, draws Charlotte's Colt from its "holster". (Ep.6)
Thumbing back the hammer as she draws it, Gertrud fires the pistol and then recocks it. The cylinder can be seen mid-rotation here, and is correctly rotating clockwise (shooter's perspective) with the fired cylinder being the one not visible, at the one o'clock position. (Ep.6)
Gertrud fires her second shot and then recocks the M1873 again. Note the loaded cylinders, as there are four unfired rounds remaining. (Ep.6)
Switching angles, Trude fires the third shot and then recocks the SAA. (Ep.6)
The fourth shot is fired, after which she again cocks the hammer before a cut to a close-up of the Neuroi's core being exposed by an off-screen fifth shot. (Ep.6)
"You messed with the wrong witch." Gertrud finishes off the Neuroi with her sixth and final shot, the Colt's cylinders now empty. (Ep.6)
A fantastic close-up of Patton's M1873 as he loads a .45 Long Colt cartridge, while taking shelter inside the Zoo Tower alongside Yoshika Miyafuji and the surviving Liberion and Karlsland tank crews. (Ep.12)
After loading the cartridge, Patton rotates the cylinder, and again it's rotated clockwise; the hammer is also correctly sitting at half-cock. This shot also shows the engraving on Patton's SAA. (Ep.12)
General Patton, a Liberion tanker, and Yoshika Miyafuji attempt to brace themselves as the Neuroi intensify their attacks on the Zoo Tower. As Patton ultimately doesn't draw his revolver when on the roof later, it's not seen on-screen again after this point. (Ep.12)
Submachine Guns
MP 40
MP 40 submachine guns are carried by Karlsland troops and tank crews; one of them is taken by Yoshika Miyafuji and used in a last stand atop the Zoo Tower in Berlin. An MP 40 magazine is also seen among other clutter in Erica Hartmann's room.
MP 40 - 9x19mm Parabellum
Mid-episode artwork, a photograph of Erica Hartmann commemorating her first solo flight, alongside Gertrud Barkhorn and Erica's instructor,
Edytha Rossmann. Around the photo sits an empty MP 40 magazine at bottom-right, a 9mm Parabellum cartridge at top-right, and a tin of Scho-Ka-Kola "aviator chocolate" at top-left. (Ep.6)
Troops at the airfield in Kiel celebrate, one of them prominently holding up an MP 40, while another has one slung behind his back. (Ep.10)
Two Karlsland soldiers, armed with MP 40s, stand guard at the entrance to General Bradley's forward command post at the outskirts of Berlin. (Ep.11)
Inside the Zoo Tower, Yoshika and another medic tend to wounded soldiers. Most have BARs, however the soldier at far right has an MP 40 next to him. (Ep.11)
"I'm taking you bastards down with me!" A desperate Karlsland tanker fires at Neuroi from the roof of the Zoo Tower. (Ep.12)
After he's injured by a beam, Yoshika races to help the soldier, who continues to fire his MP 40 and actually manages to destroy one of them. (Ep.12)
Adrenaline wearing off, the exhausted soldier drops his MP 40 as Yoshika drags him to safety. (Ep.12)
A little while later, Yoshika picks up the same discarded MP 40 to cover General Patton and herself as they attempt to escape the roof. (Ep.12)
Yoshika, whose magic is currently recharging and unusable, deliberately draws the attention of the Neuroi with a long burst from the MP 40. (Ep.12)
Surrounded by Neuroi beams and flaming debris, Yoshika's submachine gun spits lead as she lets out a war cry. (Ep.12)
With the thud of a bolt closing on an empty chamber and the hiss of an overheating barrel, Yoshika's MP 40 runs out of ammo. (Ep.12)
Empty weapon slipping from her hands, Yoshika gives the Neuroi a glare as fierce as the beams they're charging. (Ep.12)
Rifles
Boys Mk I*
Lynette Bishop continues to use a Boys Mk I* anti-tank rifle in her role as the 501st's designated marksman. She notably makes use of her Boys to put a stop to the shenanigans caused by an ancient clay fertility idol roaming around the Strike Witches' base.
A rare non-blurry look at the rifle's impressive muzzle blast, as well as a bullet leaving the barrel, in the opening credits. (OP)
An excellently framed shot of Lynette Bishop attempting to flank the retreating iceberg Neuroi, Boys in hand. (Ep.2)
Lynette holds her rifle while Eila Juutilainen notices that despite the controlling Neuroi having been destroyed, the enormous iceberg's inertia is continuing to carry it into the port of Antwerpen. (Ep.2)
The Strike Witches desperately attempt to slow or destroy the iceberg, but quickly realize that a dozen small arms are not going to have any effect whatsoever. Lynette can be seen cycling the bolt here. (Ep.2)
Getting behind Shizuka Hattori in a mock battle, Lynette aims a training-version Boys rifle. As always, it's painted orange to denote that it fires non-lethal paintball rounds. (Ep.3)
Making use of an altitude advantage, Lynette fires her training rifle at Shizuka in an attempted surprise attack. (Ep.3)
As the last Strike Witch not incapacitated or captured, Flight Sergeant Bishop retrieves her Boys Mk I* from the hangar. (Ep.7)
Residual muzzle flash swirls in the air as Lynette fires a second shot, attempting to destroy the clay idol, but the shot is blocked by the collective shields of the other witches. (Ep.7)
An absolutely gorgeous stitched shot of Lynette firing again, dislodging a tree branch and knocking the idol into her line of sight. Showcasing Lynette's incredible marksmanship, the camera follows the subsequent bullet as it passes through a tiny gap between the mass of rotating witch shields, and shatters the idol. (Ep.7)
A victorious Lynette stands with her Boys rifle as the sun rises. Similar to Perrine in
OVA and Yoshika in
The Movie, this is a rare example of a witch using a rifle on the ground. (Ep.7)
Lynette with her rifle, as the 501st chases the main body of Wolf, the Neuroi hive over Berlin. (Ep.10)
Wolf baits the witches into a trap, dropping a large number of Neuroi walls from the sky that encircle the centre of Berlin, and fill the sky with countless beams. (Ep.10)
Lynette freezes up in the middle of cycling her rifle as she realizes that the large bomber-type Neuroi is jamming their comms with a chaff-like material. This ability was previously used by the Heinkel Lerche type Neuroi in
The Movie. (Ep.10)
Boys pressed into her shoulder, Lynette attempts to call out to Shizuka, who just let out a static-filled scream over the radio. (Ep.10)
A .55 calibre bullet slices its way through an entire formation of small-type Neuroi, with Lynette cycling the rifle so fast the empty casing can already be seen falling from the rifle. (Ep.11)
Perrine and Lynette watch as a wall-type Neuroi is utterly demolished by large-calibre naval cannons. (Ep.11)
With her Shiden Kai strikers severely damaged, Minna orders Shizuka to remain behind as the rest of the Strike Witches prepare to navigate the narrow tunnels of the Berlin underground. (Ep.12)
Perrine and Lynette bring up the rear as the group flies through a dilapidated train station. (Ep.12)
Machine Guns
Bren Mk 1 (M)
In addition to continuing to be the standard weapon of Pierrette-Henriette Clostermann, a Bren Mk 1 (M) is also used by Yoshika Miyafuji while defending the Venezian battleship Doge. It is odd that a Venezian ship would have Britannian weapons onboard, though this is likely a matter of production simplicity; with Francesca Lucchini not using Romagnan/Venezian/Italian weapons, there wouldn't be reference material (including a 3D model) already available for use in what is ultimately a single episode appearance. This is supported by a Twitter post from series creator/artist Humikane Shimada, mentioning that he would have liked the Helvetian/Swiss Bf 109 flown by Yoshika in the first two episodes to be a D or E variant, but a new 3D model and other reference material would have been excessive for a single appearance (as such, Yoshika flies a Bf 109 F, likely an F-4).
Bren Mk 1 (M) - .303 British
Now armed with a Bren, Yoshika and two of the
Doge's maintenance personnel prepare for her to launch from the ship's forward catapult. (Ep.2)
A side view of the Bren's receiver, as Yoshika weaves her way through a hail of bomb-type Neuroi headed for the
Doge. (Ep.2)
Racing along one of the iceberg Neuroi's tendrils, Yoshika punches holes in it with her Bren. The amount of ammo Yoshika expends during this battle is probably a
tad optimistic, given the Bren's 30-round capacity. (Ep.2)
Illuminated by the muzzle flash, Yoshika finishes her strafing run, causing the tendril to violently explode. (Ep.2)
Inside the iceberg, the Bf 109's engines fail and Yoshika plunges through the cavern, Bren in hand. (Ep.2)
Yoshika raises a shield, as another one of the tendrils is destroyed in a massive explosion. (Ep.2)
A full side view of Perrine's Bren, with Yoshika's own slung over her shoulder as dear friends reunite. (Ep.2)
Perrine holds her Bren, as the Strike Witches realize the iceberg is still on a collision course with the port facilities in Antwerpen. (Ep.2)
Paintball rounds fly through the air as Perrine fires a training Bren in a mock battle. (Ep.3)
A close-up of the training Bren's business end and muzzle flash. (Ep.3)
A surprised Perrine looks up to see Yoshika creating an enormous shield from a distance, providing a detailed look at the training Bren. (Ep.3)
A stitched shot of all eleven Strike Witches in the bomb bay of a B-17 Flying Fortress, ready to drop over Berlin. (Ep.10)
Perrine fires her Bren, with the Karlsland trio below her, as the operation over Berlin devolves into chaos. (Ep.10)
The 501st, without Yoshika, scramble to intercept the large bomber-type Neuroi headed for Kiel; it appears to be inspired by the Nakajima G10N. (Ep.10)
Rockets from Sanya Litvyak's Fliegerhammer fly past Perrine, Minna, and Eila as Operation Southwind begins. (Ep.11)
Perrine looks at the final wall-type Neuroi, giving an excellent view of the heart of Berlin. At the far end of the Tiergarten park is the Brandenburg Gate, in front of which Wolf's main body landed, while just outside the walls at the near end is the Technical University of Berlin. The left side of the Zoo Tower can just barely be seen behind the upper-left of the right-hand Neuroi wall, below the river (more obvious in a later version of the shot). (Ep.11)
Perrine with her Bren as Shizuka rushes ahead of the group, recklessly clearing out a formation of Neuroi without backup. (Ep.11)
The witches fly through another of Berlin's abandoned U-Bahn stations, shortly after Gertrud states that they'll switch to the C Line at Stadtmitte station. (Ep.12)
Browning M1918A2
The Browning Automatic Rifle returns as Charlotte Yeager's primary weapon, and is also used by Liberion tank crews, seen when they take refuge inside the Zoo Tower.
Browning M1918A2 - .30-06 Springfield
Charlotte Yeager fires her M1918A2 during the opening battle. (Ep.1)
Shirley and Perrine with their light machine guns, as they race to intercept the iceberg bearing down on Antwerpen's port. (Ep.2)
Charlotte and Francesca desperately attempt to slow the iceberg with their Brownings. Both weapons' bolts visibly cycle in this shot, with the M1918 close to all the way open, while the M1919 is mid-cycle. (Ep.2)
Much later, the 501st JFW prepares to drop from their B-17 in this stitched shot. (Ep.10)
As the bomb bay doors open, Flight Lieutenant Yeager prepares to lead the Strike Witches feet first into hell. (Ep.10)
As the newly-formed Neuroi walls open fire on the B-17 formation, panic starts to set in. (Ep.10)
Yoshika, Charlotte, and the Karlsland trio hover above Wolf, which has landed in front of the Brandenburg Gate. The Reichstag, heavily damaged, can be seen directly beside Yoshika's head. (Ep.10)
Francesca and Shirley open fire on the G10N-inspired Neuroi headed for Kiel. (Ep.10)
Charlotte with her BAR, surprised as the bomber-type Neuroi, formed after observing the B-17s over Berlin, also starts releasing its own "bombs". (Ep.10)
The witches prepare for combat as swarms of small-type Neuroi emerge from the walls. (Ep.11)
Francesca and Charlotte watch as the first of the walls is demolished. (Ep.11)
A couple of BARs rest beside their injured owners inside the Zoo Tower. (Ep.11)
Another pair of Liberion tankers with their M1918A2s inside the flak tower. (Ep.11)
With the ring of walls replaced by an enclosed dome, the Strike Witches discuss plans for how to get inside, having received a distress call over the wireless confirming General Patton, Yoshika, and the rest of the tank force has taken shelter inside the flak tower. (Ep.11)
With their way forward through the underground blocked by a collapsed tunnel, Charlotte and Francesca discover a door to a parallel passageway. (Ep.12)
Another Liberion tanker sits with his BAR on the left, as the Karlsland tanker on the right tells Yoshika that his comrade who went to the roof has yet to return. This is the same soldier seen in the MP 40 section above, though his SMG is evidently just off-screen in this shot. (Ep.12)
Charlotte performs some impressive manoeuvres while firing her BAR at more swarms of Neuroi. (Ep.12)
An fantastic shot of Trude and Shirley laying down fire with their MGs; the BAR's bolt is again animated here. (Ep.12)
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