Fourth Squad (Anime)

The Fourth Squad (第四分隊) is a section of the Scout Regiment led by Section Commander Hange Zoë.

The 57th Exterior Scouting Mission arc
As veteran soldiers of the Scout Regiment since before the fall of Wall Maria, several members of the Fourth Squad partake in Commander Erwin Smith's plan to capture the Female Titan in the Forest of Giant Trees during the 57th Exterior Scouting Mission. When the Female is captured, Captain Levi and Section Commander Miche Zacharius are unsuccessful in their attempts to sever its limbs. Keiji is summoned by Commander Erwin, the latter orders for explosives to be brought out to dismember the Female Titan's hands. Before they can make further attempts, the Female Titan calls all nearby Titans towards her. Abel prepares to combat the Titans as they approach, only to find that the Titans are ignoring them in favor of reaching the Female. At Erwin's command, the veterans attack the Titans devouring the Female Titan until Erwin orders for their forces to retreat to Calaneth District.

Assault on Stohess arc
Some days later, Fourth Squad participate in the Assault on Stohess to capture Annie Leonhart. When the initial capture plan fails and the Female Titan transforms in the city, it is led to another trap set by Section Commander Hange Zoë and Moblit, who fire the special target restraining weapon and trap it again. Hange then threatens the Titan, right before it breaks free and the pursuit continues. The pursuit is cut short when the Female Titan runs into an open area where they cannot maneuver in their equipment. As the Female Titan overpowers Eren's Titan, they advance in an attempt to cut off the Female's escape, though it outpaces them and begins to climb Wall Sina.

Clash of the Titans arc
While the Scouts cover Annie's crystal and take it away from the scene, a Titan's face is seen inside of Wall Sina where the Female Titan's climb damaged the Wall. Hange is approached by Pastor Nick, who urges them to cover the Titan before sunlight can shine on it. Hange is joined by Abel and others in their section to cover the exposed part of the Wall. Hange later interrogates Nick on the spot, demanding to know what he and his church know about the Walls, but Hange's questions are met with no information.

Soon after the defeat of the Female Titan, the Fourth Squad joins the Stohess District Scout operatives on the journey to Ehrmich District to assist in the sudden Wall Rose invasion. While in Ehrmich, Hange receives information concerning Annie's connection to Reiner Braun and Bertholdt. After some discussion, the soldiers present begin to suspect the two to be possible accomplices to Annie. To avoid unwanted conflict, Hange orders all soldiers present to keep the information confidential until Reiner and Bertholdt can be confronted in an underground location.

The Scouts continue further into Wall Rose to aid in the efforts to locate the breach in Wall Rose, choosing Utgard Castle as a point of reconnaissance. Upon their arrival, they find the Scout recruits of the 104th Cadet Corps battling the Titans amidst the collapsed castle. Hange's squad quickly eliminates the remaining Titans and retrieve the eviscerated recruit Ymir, who possesses the power of the Titans.

The soldiers regroup atop Wall Rose near to the ruins of Utgard where Nifa, Moblit, and Keiji check on Ymir's condition, noting that she is unconscious but healing gradually. The soldiers are met by Captain Hannes of the Garrison's advance unit. Hannes reports to their surprise that no hole was located in Wall Rose. With no set plan of action, Hange announces that they will relocate to Trost District and await further orders. However, at this time Reiner exposes himself and Bertholdt as the Armored and Colossal Titans, respectively, moving the soldiers into action as the two transform atop Wall Rose in a sudden attempt to capture Eren.

While Eren battles the Armored Titan, Hange's squad attack the Colossal Titan. Noting its slow speed, they are confident that they can kill Bertholdt quickly, but their efforts come to a halt when the Colossal Titan emits a barrage of hot steam. Due to the strong winds, Hange's squad is unable to approach the Colossal Titan with their ODM gear. Taking Team 1 of their squad to assist Eren, Hange orders for Lauda to lead Team 2 on standby near the Colossal Titan while Rashad leads Teams 3 and 4 to flank the Colossal Titan on the opposite side.

Team 1 observes Eren's battle with the Armored Titan from a distance, urging him to exploit the Armored Titan's weak points to gain the advantage. Eren's tactics and the techniques learned from Annie during their training days succeed in bringing down the Armored Titan. However, Reiner calls out to Bertholdt for assistance, and the Colossal Titan breaks free from Wall Rose and comes crashing to the ground below. A soldier atop the Wall urges everyone to move out of the way, but the ranking officers in Hange's teams are caught in the Colossal Titan's explosive impact, leaving them all heavily injured or unconscious.

When Commander Erwin joins the soldiers atop Wall Rose with reinforcements from Trost, Hange and their officers are still too injured to join in the mission to rescue Eren, and it is unknown if any subordinate members of the Fourth Squad were able to participate. Despite their injuries, Hange points out a nearby Forest of Giant Trees near to where Reiner and Bertholdt fled after the battle. Assuming the two would have to rest for the night before continuing to flee to their "hometown," Hange urges for the able-bodied soldiers to pursue before nightfall.

Royal Government arc
Hange and several members of their squad are seen staying inside of a cottage along with Squad Levi. Nifa later arrives informing them of Erwin's arrest and delivers a message to Levi who has everyone evacuate the cottage. Afterwards, Levi informs them that there has been a freeze on all Scout Regiment activity, and that the government has ordered them to turn over Eren and Historia. Hange informs the others they will try to assist Erwin and agrees to give part of their squad to Levi. Later on in Trost, the members of Fourth Squad who were with Levi are all killed by Kenny and his soldiers while trying to protect Eren and Historia.

Return to Shiganshina arc
The Fourth Squad is ordered by Erwin Smith to go with Squad Levi and engage the Armored Titan, using their Thunder Spears at their squad leaders' discretion. The squad is successful in heavily damaging the Armored Titan.

The squad then makes a hasty retreat after the sudden appearance of Bertholdt Hoover and expectation that he will transform into the Colossal Titan in an explosion of steam. To Hange's relief, Bertholdt aborts his attack out of concern for Reiner Braun. Hange orders both squads to continue as planned to finish off Reiner and eliminate Bertholdt. However, Armin requests a chance to negotiate. While he does, members of the Fourth Squad head back to Reiner. However, when they arrive they discover the damaged Armored Titan is now lying on its back so they can no longer reach the previously exposed nape.

Hange notices Bertholdt has left Armin and has started to ascend into the air. Wary, Hange calls for the squad to pull back, but they do not have enough time. The squad is obliterated by the impact of the Colossal Titan's transformation, with the sole exception of Hange, who is spared by being pushed into a nearby well by Moblit Berner.