Katrin Stordalen
Katrin Stordalen | |
|---|---|
 Stordalen (right) receiving an award in 2011 | |
| Born | 6 May 1988 Lindenfels, Aarberg, Acrea |
| Allegiance |  Acrea |
| Service/ | Acrean Army |
| Years of service | 2006-Present |
| Rank | Kommandsersjant |
| Unit | 1st Armoured Battalion, Royal Dane Regiment |
| Battles/wars | Zemplen War |
| Awards | see below |
Katrin Lissbeth Stordalen (born 6 May 1988) is an Acrean tank commander and tank ace of the Zemplen War.
Born in Daneland in 1988, Stordalen enlisted in the Acrean Army at the age of 17. She underwent basic training at Norderstedt Kaserne in Steiermark before receiving her first choice assignment and being sent to the Pansarschule Rynningeviken to undergo armour training. After completing her basic crewman's courses, she specialised as a master gunner, and was assigned to an Strv 124M of the 1st Armoured Battalion, Royal Dane Regiment. She took command of her own tank, an Strv 124C Pantera bearing turret number 8264, in May 2008 after being promoted to sergeant.
After the start of Acrean intervention in the Zemplen War in early 2009, Stordalen and her crew were some of the several thousand soldiers to respond to volunteer requests to be deployed as part of the newly formed Acrean Forces Ruvelka. After performing successfully in competitive trials to select the soldiers to fill the TO&E for the newly stood-up expeditionary units, Stordalen and her crew were selected to be sent overseas and were deployed as part of 1st Battalion, 13th Armoured Regiment under Erich von Rohr in April 2009.
First seeing combat during Operation Harpe, Stordalen's tank was deployed at a strongpoint in the Ruvelkan defensive line. Over the course of the battle, her vehicle destroyed several Syaran vehicles, inluding three Myrmidon tanks. She participated in sporadic fighting over the summer of 2009, before being deployed as part of Ruvelkan General Novák's armoured spearhead during Operation Overshadow. Stordalen received special commendations for actions on 20 September, when a Syaran armoured counterattack saw severe damage inflicted on the Ruvelkan-Acrean armoured forces, including the loss of two Panteras and one crew fatality for the Acrean contingent. During this action, Stordalen's platoon, assisted by infantry armed with anti-tank weapons and 120mm mortar fire, was responsible for the destruction of 21 tanks and numerous other vehicles from their defensive hull-down positions. Her tank personally claimed 7 enemy tanks and 18 other armoured vehicles destroyed on 20 September. She was promoted to Staff Sergeant in November 2009, and saw only sporadic fighting over the autumn and winter of that year. She later took part and saw heavy combat during Operation Homefront.
The practice of recognising tank aces is a tradition that dates back to the Eracuran Great War in the Acrean military. Official records of vehicles destroyed are kept as a matter of course, and gunner's sight images were extensively recorded during the Zemplen War for use in debriefings and after-action reports. Stordalen's tank recorded 26 enemy tanks and 68 other armoured vehicles destroyed during the war, a tally thought to have been attributed to by her battalion's deployment at locations which saw the heaviest fighting during many operations. This ranks her very highly among other Acrean tank aces during the war. Her combat record made her a local celebrity among Acrean Forces Ruvelka and within the Acrean armoured community.