Below are pre-set German characters for the game. Feel free
to modify them as you see fit. Due to the scarcity of information about the
conflict, particularly the lower level officers, the below biographies have
been influenced by fiction as well as fact. If and when characters meet their
untimely end, feel free to introduce your own characters.
Due to the narrative of the Campaign I have also taken
liberty of the ranks of the officers you play as and report to.
Commanding Officer
(Battle 1
and Battle 2)
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Name: Johannes Barge (factual)
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Rank: Lieutenant Colonel
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Age: 37
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Appearance: see picture
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From: Unknown
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Starting CO
Rating: -1
(no effect)
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Background:
Not much is known about Barge in western
literature. Barge was born on 23 March 1906 in Germany. Barge joined the
Wehrmacht in 1934 at age 28.
Barge was awarded the Gold German Cross on 28
July 1943 as a Major with Infanterie-Batallion 550 z.b.V, a penal battalion
raised in Fulda in December 1941. It is not clear why Barge was assigned to
this unit, but we can assume soon after being awarded the German Cross he was
transferred to Cephalonia and promoted to Lieutenant Colonel.
On his arrival on
Cephalonia he struck up a relationship with Gandin whom he shared many
interests with. When the Italian armistice was signed Barge negotiated with
Gandin on behalf of his superior, General Hubert Lanz. After misleading
Gandin in stating that he had received no orders to disarm Italian troops the
situation on Cephalonia broke down. By mid-September the Italians were in
open resistance with the Germans who had sent for reinforcements from the
mainland.
The first few days of
battle with the Italians take 400 Germans prisoner from Barge’s command. With
the arrival of Major Harald Von Hirschfeld and the elite 1st
Gebirgsjager Division saw Barge leave Cephalonia and assigned to the
Festungs-Grenadier-Regiment in Crete. The Germans saw Crete to be of vital
strategic importance and continued to occupy it even after the evacuation of
their forces from mainland Greece.
On 10 May 1945 Barge was
awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross and promoted to Colonel for his
action during the German defense of Crete.
The speculative reader may
draw links between Barge serving with a penal battalion and being assigned to
the Crete Command (which was left with no meaningful means of escape after
the Heer and Navy moved out of the area). The Crete command may represent his
mishandling of the Cephalonia situation in the eyes of his superiors or
larger problems he had with his commanders.
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Commanding Officer
(After Battle 2)
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Name: Harald Von Hirschfeld (factual)
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Rank: Major
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Age: 31
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Appearance: see picture
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From: Weimar, Thuringia, Germany
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Starting CO Rating: +2 (no effect)
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Background:
Harald Von Hirschfeld was born in
Weimar, Thuringia, Germany on 11 July 1912.
Harald’s childhood and schooling was
constantly disrupted by his father’s business, who was a merchant from
Mecklenburg. Therefore Harald was education was split between stints in South
America and Spain.
After finishing school in Potsdam in
1931, Harald worked as a foreign correspondent for a German newspaper based
in Paris.
In march 1933 he decided to return to
Germany where he joined the Nazi Party and the SA.
From July to March 1935 Hirschfeld was
adjutant of the chief of police in Kassel. After his police training was
complete, 23 year old Hirshfeld volunteered for the 98th Mountain
Infantry Regiment based in Bavaria.
In October 1935, after settling in
Germany, 23 year old Harald volunteered for the 99th Mountain
Infantry Regiment (army reserve) based in Bavaria.
From November 1935-1937 Hirschfeld
rising through the ranks quickly and transferring regiments he quickly
eventually obtained the rank of (reserve) lieutenant. In November 1938,
Hirschfeld transferred to active service and was made platoon commander of
the 16th Anti-Tank Company of the 98th Gebirgsjager
Regiment.
Taking part in the Polish campaign as
platoon leader von Hirschfeld’s leadership qualities did not go unnoticed. At
the end of 1940 Hirschfeld was promoted to a member of staff for the 1st
Gebirgsjager Division and given command of the 7th Company.
Hirschfeld also took part in the invasion of the Soviet Union and during the
fighting in November 1941 was awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross.
In April 1942 Hirschfeld was promoted to Captain and given command of the
second battalion. During fighting in the Caucasus’s Hirschfeld was also
awarded the Oak Leaves Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross in December 1942.
In mid-1943 Hirschfeld received another
promotion to Major, and during a leadership reshuffle, was again promoted to
Lieutenant Colonel in late 1943 and given command of the 98th
Gebirgsjager Regiment. During this period Hirschfelds command was deployed to
Greece, partially to rest and refit and also take over the Italian occupation
zones in preparation for the supposed armistice.
Before Hirschfeld arrived in Cephalonia,
his reputation and that of the 1st Gebirgsjager proceeded them as
they had been involved in several atrocities against civilians on the Greek
mainland in the months prior.
On 17 September 1943 Hirschfeld and his
regiment arrived on the Cephalonia. The elite, battle-hardened, well equipped
Germans quickly went on the offensive turning the tide against the Italians
until all resistance was snuffed out five days later. After the Italians
surrender on Cephalonia, Hirschfeld and his men played a major role in the
events of the massacre of the Acqui Division.
After Cephalonia, Hirschfeld’s division
was transferred back to Poland to combat the Red Army. On 1 July 1944 he was
promoted to colonel. In September 1944 he was transferred to the 564th
and shortly after the 337th Volksgrenadier Division as its
commander. Finally, as the situation became more and more dire and German
manpower being exhausted, Hirschfeld was transferred to command the 78th
Volksstrum Division.
On 15 January 1945 Hirschfeld was again
promoted to Major General and became the Wehrmacht’s youngest general
officer.
On 18 January 1945 as a result of a
soviet air attack, Von Hirschfeld was severely wounded during the Battle of
Dukla Pass in Poland and died on the way to the field hospital.
Hirschfeld was posthumously promoted to
Lieutenant general on 10 February 1945. Some sources credit Hirshfeld’s
meteoric rise through the ranks due to his political closeness and adherence
to the Nazi Regime.
Hirschfeld never was changed for any of
his war crimes. His superior, General Lanz answered to the crimes committed
in by Hirschfeld in Greece.
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Senior Officer
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Name: Gunther Weber (fictional – movie)
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Rank: Captain
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Age: 26
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Appearance: see picture
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From: Innsbruck, Tirol, Germany (Austria)
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Starting Men Rating: -1 (no effect)
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Starting Outlook: Sad (no effect)
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Background:
Not much is known about Weber prior to the war.
Weber mentions that he is from the Austrian
Tirol, high in the alps.
Assumed to come from a middle-class background
and reflecting the feelings of many Germans at the time, he is proud of the
new Germany that has been created.
We do know that at some point Weber joined the
Fallschirjager and took part in the invasion of Greece. In the source
material he is the highest ranked of the initial Germans on Cephalonia and
negotiates the Greek surrender of the island.
A shy and reserved man, Weber is confused by
the Italians ideas which are foreign to the properganda he has been used to
in his youth. Weber seemingly stays with the German occupying force on the
Cephalonia, striking up a relationship with the Italians, particularly
Captain Correlli.
With the events of September 1943 Weber must
fight against the Italian’s he befriended and was visibly shaken by the
massacre. Eventually he comes face to face with Captain Correlli and is
powerless to stop the firing squad from killing his Italian friends.
After searching the dead bodies, Weber realises
that Corelli is still barely alive. Weber cannot bring himself to kill Corelli
himself and leave him to die and eventually be rescued by Greek partisans.
Nothing is known about Weber story for the
remainder of the war of if he survived.
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Junior Leader – Section 1
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Name: Dietrich Voigt (fictional – generated)
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Rank: Sergeant
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Age: 22
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From: Todtnau, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany
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Background:
N/A
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Junior Leader – Section 2
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Name: Jens Wolf
(fictional – generated)
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Rank: Sergeant
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Age: 24
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From: Salzburg, Salzburg, Germany (Austria)
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Background:
N/A
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Junior Leader – Section 3
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Name: Wilhelm Klein (fictional – generated)
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Rank: Sergeant
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Age: 21
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From: Munich, Bavaria, Germany
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Background:
N/A
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