Interactive History VI: Warrior's Ambition

[discovery1]

There's no way we will end up guarding a prison camp. Well, maybe if we have a break down like our uncle or something but baring us becoming not fit for the front lines. Otherwise we are just too good to be used in such a way.

Now being in a position where we are hunting partisans I can see.

[DemonArchangel]

Guys, this is a game. I would never advocate joining the SS if this was a real-life situation, but this is a game, and I would like to investigate that angle of play, especially since in Manstein's Woes and Red Flood, we already played the Heer.

[Csargo]

[Kraxis]

Take it easy guys... No need to begin a fight. You can say we are already in enough of a fight.

Now, I can safely tell you that you won't ever end up in a concentration camp. Or deal with anything like that. You are far too valuable as a frontline soldier. I can't refuse anything dealing with PoWs, but then again neither would I be able to do that with the Heer. The Eastern Front was ugly for everyone... From general to private, from supply troops to frontline troops, from Luftwaffe to Heer to Waffen SS.

And never forget, your own choices can lead to things one way or another...

[Gurkhal]

2) If Hausser wants Walter for something special there is a great chance it is important. And important is equal to great chances of promotions, not to speak of the personal relationship with Hausser. Who says it will ever be discovered what took place to get it off?

Mostly because something's got to happen.

[JimBob]

2) If Hausser wants Walter for something special there is a great chance it is important. And important is equal to great chances of promotions, not to speak of the personal relationship with Hausser. Who says it will ever be discovered what took place to get it off?

Hausser is old army, he may be SS but he's still a Prussian. Let's see where this goes. If we have command with Hausser we'll find ourselves in some of the most important fights of the East (with Citadelle coming soon). Maybe we can take the SS away from the creeps like Eicke.

[Tran]

Option no.2 - Anything can happen, I want to know what happen

[Kraxis]

Chapter 3: From Grey to Black

Walter nodded. "Yeah, no point in actually trying to rat out on you guys." Michael, still stoic in stance, lightened a bit up. "This shouldn't be about politics, I hope you understand that. We need the best Germany has to offer, and you fit the bill."
"You have made your points, and I accept. The Heer no longer has any future for me. They have left me to wither in an unacceptable position on the front for too long. I have been forgotten, I have been neglected. Damn, I have nearly been killed because they failed to realize I had more to offer. I'll join the SS and your clandestine little operation."
Michael returned to his youthful smile again. "Excellent! A tailor will arrive tomorrow to take your measurements for your new uniform. And I hope we can give you a more full briefing about your assignment soon. But I have to leave now, take care and welcome to the Waffen-SS." Michael gave a quick salute, spun on his heels and raced out of the hospital yard.

The very next morning an old short tailor arrived and began his work. His eyes were sad and kept glancing at the old uniform. Finally he said something. "So, going from Grey to Black?"
Walter understood his question only too well, but who was this man to question him? What did he know of Walter's reasons? "Old man, I think you should just keep your attention on taking the correct measurements."
"Yes, of course."
"And be sure to add a few centimetres to the waist and over the shoulders. I have lost weight while here, but I'm sure I will gain it back later."
The tailor finished quickly and basically ran out the door, leaving Walter to look after him, feeling a pang of anger. This is my life, and I bloody well decide for myself where I'm going.

The new uniform arrived within a few days, obviously the little tailor had a stock of materials already pre-cut. The uniform fitted most excellently, with a little room to expand on the waistline and over the shoulders.
It was now the 31st of January, and while the tailor had poked at the wrong spot, Walter felt good about his choice. He put on his hospital clothes again, he didn't want to wrinkle the uniform while sitting around here doing nothing.
As he trudged over to the bed to lie down a while, the wound was acting up again, there was a sharp rap on the door. Walter rose from the bed and opened door. The man outside was in his late 50s, grey hair and a grey stubble on the chin, upper lip and cheeks. He was equal in height to Walter and had the same piercing eyes. The squarish head lighted up in a smile. "Walter! My boy!" Big arms grabbed Walter in a big hug and Walter returned it.
"Dad! How have you found the time to come and see me?" Walter's heart pounded with joy.
"Oh, I convinced my superiors that the Kriegsmarine can live without me for a few days, it isn't as if we are doing many surface operations at this time."
"Come in, come in..." Walter led his father inside, and sat down on the side of the bed while his father sat down in a chair.
"So Walter, I can see you are healing well from that wound."
"Oh yes indeed. I'm returning to my old strength with great haste, but it still requires me to relax at times, I simply haven't got the endurance for much and my lung can't cope with stress at this time."
Martin nodded as he gave his son a good look over. "Losing weight doesn't fit you son. You have to eat more." Walter laughed.
“Parents... I am eating more, you should have seen me two weeks ago. I looked like I had just returned from Stalingrad."
“Speaking of Stalingrad, Paulus surrendered today...”
“Well, I’m glad I never got that transfer to 6th Armee. At times being ignored can be a benefit.”
Martin looked around the room while they spoke, and suddenly his eyes locked onto the black uniform hanging in the open dresser. “Please tell me that is Panzer Black.”
“Father, please.”
“What?! It is SS! How can you do that? They are Nazis!”
“I’m a soldier, and a soldier in the Waffen-SS, I won’t have anything to do with the politicians.”
“Are you crazy? You are a conservative, a nobility. You come from old Prussian traditions. These people are as far from that as you can get.”
“No that would be the Communists, father, the ones I am to fight. And what do I care how these people think? I’m in this for Germany.”
“You should have stayed with the Heer. We have old traditions in that place, our name is almost household in there.” Martin had puffed himself up with some arrogance and pride.
“Really now... Then why the heck was I looked over for promotion so many times? Why did I continue to serve in crap assignments? Why did my superiors keep holding me down, stealing resources from me just prior to attacks? I was being suffocated there, my talents wasted. The Heer offered me nothing, and you know it!”
“But the Waffen-SS... Why didn’t you join the Fallschirmjägers or something?”
“Don’t you think I have already tried? I was getting nowhere. At least here I will get a promotion and a proper assignment, and I know the Waffen-SS recognizes people for merit, not pedigree or old contacts. And they have seen what uncle Friedrich did.”
“Is that was it is about? A deranged old man ‘seeing’ strength in you? There was a reason he was put into that mental hospital, his mind was screwed over by his experiences.”
“What do you know about that?! You gladly left him when he was at his weakest, begging you not to, just to prove a point to him. You did that to spite the man. You bloody killed him, and you know it!”
Martin looked at Walter with strange unbelieving eyes. As he stood up his voice registered resignation. “I can sense your ambition Walter, I can’t stop you... I think I hear a horn calling all sailors back now.”
Walter seething with rage at his father answered. “Yes, I can hear it too, you better hurry. Close the door on the way out.” Martin slowly turned and walked out the door, a bit slumped.
After he had left Walter felt a lump in his throat, despite his rage. He stood up from the bed grabbed the chair and threw it with fury against the wall with a loud raging yell.
Almost instantly Walter fell to the floor in agony. His lung sent might jabs of pain through his body with every breath, the crazed action had been too much for the wound.
A few seconds later a nurse and the doctor stormed in. Seeing Walter lying on the floor in a fetal position, they acted quickly. A quick shot of morphine and laying him on the bed. Walter passed into sleep.

The next day Walter woke up around midday. A letter was lying on his table. It was from Hausser himself.

Sturmbannführer Walter von Schleizinger
It is good to hear you have accepted our offer. While I regret the need for unusual methods, it was felt to be important due to the nature of the operation at hand. I understand that you aren’t officially SS yet, but that doesn’t mean you can’t wear the uniform or begin to work. I’m sure the paperwork will be finished in a few days.

What I need you to do is learn about special warfare. Mobility, vehicles, tactics, anything that strikes you as important.
I have included a special pass to any training rounds and/or supply depots. I suggest you have a look at one of the following places, the panzer training grounds at Paderborn, the Junkerschule at Bad Tölz, the recon training grounds at Münster or the Kriegsschule at Potsdam for a view of SS infantry.

Good luck in recovery
Obergruppenführer Paul Hausser

No more time to recover, it seemed. Walter had to get a move on. However, these places were widely spaced so there was a choice to be made.

1) Go to Paderborn and learn about Panzer tactics, and the vehicles themselves. Walter has served with StuGs and tanks before, but he has no experience with them directly.
2) Go to Bad Tölz to find out about SS officer training. Since Walter was Heer until now there is bound to be some differences.
3) The recon forces at Münster could offer some insights into line of sight and the lay of the land.
4) SS infantry is different from Heer infantry, or at least their training is. Since Walter is an old infantry commander of shock troops, it could be useful to learn how the SS does their job.

[Peasant Phill]

Hmm, beter first learn about what we're working with. We can integrate ourselves later. Charisma might do the trick with the men, but no amount of charisma can compensate for lack of knowledge of our main weapon.

Vote 1 learn panzer tactics

[Kagemusha]

I would say that we should first learn the "house rules" of Waffen SS, in order to be efficient leader, so: 2) Go to Bad Tölz to find out about SS officer training. Since Walter was Heer until now there is bound to be some differences.

[woad&fangs]

This is my life, and I bloody well decide for myself where I'm going.

That's just a bit Ironic
I haven't made a descision yet.

[AggonyDuck]

I choose 1. Knowing our new weapon and arm by heart is essential in our new position. Without knowing the strengths and limits of armour, we will never succeed as a commander for an armoured formation.

[DemonArchangel]

Our job description was to be the commander of an SS Aufklarungsbattalion, not a Panzer Formation (sp?).

Thus, we should go to the recon school in Munster to learn the art of reconnaissance, infiltration and special operations. Going to the Panzerschule would be useless because we won't have tanks and heavy artillery under our command, we will have light infantry, armored cars and halftracks. Also, information is the most important weapon any military can have, and learning how to obtain information will prove to be much more valuable than tooling around in a bunch of Panzers looking glamorous until you run out of fuel. However, even information is useless unless you know how to use it to coordinate your forces. Go to SS Officer school after your trip to the recon facility.

Agony, Phill: Panzers fall under the definition of standard operations, not the special warfare that Hausser expected us to learn. And if we explain Walter's role to the recon commander, he might teach us how to coordinate our Aufkl battalion with armor and artillery.

[discovery1]

Vote: 3 Lets learn about being a scout since that's what we will be doing.

Learn to be an SS officer? Never, at most visit that place for only a few hours.

And damn, he could have handled that run in with his dad a bit better.

[AggonyDuck]

I'll stick with my decision. We are part of a combined arms formation and knowledge of the different types of vehicles and tactics is essential. The real question though is what does Hausser mean with special warfare?

[Flavius Clemens]

I'd go for 4. I agree with DemonArchangel about option 1, and I get the impression from the prologue that Walter is already pretty competent about line of sight and lay of the land, so learning the culture and tactics offers the biggest chance for improvement. Given the secrecy I suggest we don't give out any details to the people we meet or we could rapidly find ourselves out of favour with our new boss.

[shlin28]

Option 1

[Peasant Phill]

It seems that I've possibly been the victim of a misconseption. I thought that Walter was going to reckon with some light armour (he would learn light armour tactics to) and that Walter wouldn't learn scout tactics but would learn about the terrain he would be operating on.

So Kraxis, what can we expect of the make up of our scout group? And can we learn scout tactics or just knowledge of terrain?

[King Kurt]

I have just reread the previous chapter ( Chapter 2) Our contact was Wittmann who is currently at Paderborn so we should go there first. Our way forward is with him and his cadre so we should keep close. Our man needs no training in recon - his combat experience out weighs anything the training ground brings. Also our man has no need of SS indoctrination - he is meant to be separate from that - so no need for officer school. The infantry school sounds interesting, but let's get together with Wittmann first.

So - option 1 for me.

[Kraxis]

It seems that I've possibly been the victim of a misconseption. I thought that Walter was going to reckon with some light armour (he would learn light armour tactics to) and that Walter wouldn't learn scout tactics but would learn about the terrain he would be operating on.

So Kraxis, what can we expect of the make up of our scout group? And can we learn scout tactics or just knowledge of terrain?

Well, all the options are meant to learn basic tactics, to see how that arm works in combat, but also to get a feeling for how the equipment works. In the case of Recon school Walter would learn about the various vehicles and their performances, but also how Recon forces are supposed to advance and how to use the land in combination with that. At tank school he would learn about tanks etc etc. Of course each place would also take Walter on maneuvers and so on.

So no, he wouldn't be able to leanr about the land he is bound to work in yet. That is practically impossible since he only knows he will be working for Hausser, and that likely means in his units' area of influence.

[Tran]

Our job description was to be the commander of an SS Aufklarungsbattalion

How exactly did you get such a conclusion?

And yes, I've re-read the chapters.

[DemonArchangel]

Tran: "What kind of position can I expect?" The man began what seemed to be a half rehearsed line. "You will take over a recon battalion in one of our divisions. Being the commander of such a force requires aggressive maneuvering, quick thinking, a feel for the land and the ability to act independently."

Kurt, Aggony: Here's the thing. Wittmann might be our contact, but he's not going to be much use to us in performing our job. We need to be independent, we need to act independently, even when not performing the recon job formally. We need to learn about what vehicles we have, what vehicles we're going to use, what special tactics recon units have etc. The capabilities of Panzers are up to the commanders of the Panzer regiments and should be of secondary concern to us. Our job for now is to simply feed them information. If we have time, we can go to Paderborn. While Walter is very knowledgeable about reconnaissance itself, he doesn't have experience with the vehicles and gear, which is what he'll be using.

[Kagemusha]

What i meant with going to SS officer school was, that Waffen SS had some really different approaches in leadership and relationship between the leaders and ordinary men compared to Heer. For example no one was called sir in SS, only by the rank. Now if our guy will start handling his SS men with the methods of Heer. I doubt he will turn out as very successful leader in Waffen SS.

[Kommodus]

DA's arguments have convinced me; the clues Kraxis has left seem to indicate the importance of reconaissance.

Vote: Option 3

[Gurkhal]

Just a question. I got the feeling that we are limited in the number of places we can visit. So that we will have to skip one or two of them. Is this correct?

[Kommodus]

Just a question. I got the feeling that we are limited in the number of places we can visit. So that we will have to skip one or two of them. Is this correct?

No. We have to choose one.

[AntiochusIII]

I don't know, when it comes to Special Warfare, I always get this impression that adaptability is the most important asset of all.

For sure, going to SS Officer School is a baaaad idea. We jumped in here with the caveat that we won't let Walter become an ordinary SS, war criminal scum and all, but rather a special forces commander for special operations. It really doesn't matter much if we call our superiors "Sir" and our soldiers don't. I should think that raw charisma, brave conduct, and field success are what make a good commander in a soldier's eyes. Besides, it's not like we'll learn that much about an ordinary SS soldier from an officer school. I think the focus on battalion-level warfare lends better to a full-scale military game than political intrigue.

And most importantly, as early as this chapter 3 his personal conflict has begun. The last thing we need is to submerge him more in the SS "culture." No sir, leave that to others who care. He's in it for Germany.

So that leaves three choices: Panzers, Recon, and Infantry.

The instructions are not clear, but I lean more towards Recon myself. Others have rightly noted that we have contacts with the Panzer guys, and I myself think that learning the role of these war machines in special operations would be valuable knowledge. Same goes for the infantry, to know what they can and cannot do in a field would provide us with great but indirect insights. Hence why I choose Recon: he might already know a lot, but in the end what makes a special operation special is the precision of the execution and adaptability on the field. That requires, more than anything else, good intelligence and therefore good reconnaissance. I hope we could've learned all we can of course, but this is war and nothing goes as it should be...

Choice 3.

[Kagemusha]

I don't know, when it comes to Special Warfare, I always get this impression that adaptability is the most important asset of all.

For sure, going to SS Officer School is a baaaad idea. We jumped in here with the caveat that we won't let Walter become an ordinary SS, war criminal scum and all, but rather a special forces commander for special operations. It really doesn't matter much if we call our superiors "Sir" and our soldiers don't. I should think that raw charisma, brave conduct, and field success are what make a good commander in a soldier's eyes. Besides, it's not like we'll learn that much about an ordinary SS soldier from an officer school. I think the focus on battalion-level warfare lends better to a full-scale military game than political intrigue.

And most importantly, as early as this chapter 3 his personal conflict has begun. The last thing we need is to submerge him more in the SS "culture." No sir, leave that to others who care. He's in it for Germany.

So that leaves three choices: Panzers, Recon, and Infantry.

The instructions are not clear, but I lean more towards Recon myself. Others have rightly noted that we have contacts with the Panzer guys, and I myself think that learning the role of these war machines in special operations would be valuable knowledge. Same goes for the infantry, to know what they can and cannot do in a field would provide us with great but indirect insights. Hence why I choose Recon: he might already know a lot, but in the end what makes a special operation special is the precision of the execution and adaptability on the field. That requires, more than anything else, good intelligence and therefore good reconnaissance. I hope we could've learned all we can of course, but this is war and nothing goes as it should be...

Choice 3.

Im sorry, but what has going to Waffen SS officer (not Allgemeine-SS, or "General" SS.) school has to do with our character turning into a war criminal? We are already part of criminal organization. I was and still am against going into SS at the first place, but if you enter any organization and dont know what is expected from the leader in that organization, it is very much likely that you wont be successful inside that organization. You do realize that our future subordinates will be politically brainwashed SS soldiers, who will have hard time accepting a aristocratic Heer officer, as their commander, specially because in Waffen SS the future leaders of units went trough their basic training together with their future subordinates.
I personally doubt that in this Interactive History, Kraxis is giving us "right or wrong" choices to begin with, but just set of choices that will mold our character through out the story, until the story end´s.

[DemonArchangel]

So? Those SS enlisted men will learn to listen and to listen well. Screw the politics of the SS, screw the politics of the Fuhrer. The men under my command, and those commanding Walter WILL understand that success on the battlefield is the only sort of success.

[Tran]

Thanks, DA. My choice:

3) The recon forces at Münster could offer some insights into line of sight and the lay of the land.