Pages from the journal of Oberleutnant Wilhelm Schröder.
The world lay at our feet, we only needed to seize the oppertunities. After France we felt like we were immortal, country after country had fallen to our Blitzkrieg, there was nothing that could stop us. The Soviet Union was nothing more then a rotten shed, you only had to kick in the door and the whole structure would have come crashing down. But we would soon know better, this would be a war unlike any before.
Advancing is a pleasure, the speed is intoxicating, further and further and further. The boundlessness of the land, countryside like none we had ever seen before, fields stretching to the horizon. Skies so big and blue that it looked as if god wanted to dazzle us. We all believed that we would be home before Christmas, we were taking tens of thousands of prisoners, hunderds of thousands even. Yet with amazement and disappointment, we discovered in late October and early November that the beaten Russians seemed quite unaware that as a military force they had almost ceased to exist. In late December the whole situation made it increasingly plain that we had underestimated the Russian colossus, their divisions weren't armed and equipped according to our standards, and their tactical leadership was often poor. But there they were, and as we smashed a dozen of them, the Russians simply put up another dozen. The time factor favoured them, as they were near their own resources, while we were moving further and further away from ours. And so, our troops, sprawled over the immense front line, without depth, are subject to the incessant attacks of the enemy. Forced to dig themselves into the rock-hard ground, as deep as possible like animals in holes, scared of freezing to death.
They treated us like liberators, and in return they were treated like they were below us, as if they were inferior. Our reprisals against the civilian population only increased their resistance, that sparked their sudden patriotism for their country, not the love for the Bolshevik regime. Stalingrad was a disaster, soldiers were send into the city like pigs to a slaughter house, even panzer crews were forced on their feet, to abandon their tanks and fight as infantry. You can’t say that the Russian soldiers at Stalingrad only held on because of the brutal discipline. There was a very genuine idealism and a very genuine determination to fight on, and an astonishing level of self-sacrifice. I don’t think any Western army, be it British, French, or American would ever have survived at Stalingrad or have held on to the west bank of the Volga there, unlike the Red Army, which did. You cannot stop an army which has done Stalingrad, was what they said. The lands which we had destined for our living space would become our dying space. Only the dead see the end of war.
Stalingrad was the end of the beginning, but the Battle of Kursk was the beginning of the end. Now the frontline has come to the outskirts of Kharkov, and we are destined to defend it, or to die trying.
The Roleplay.
This roleplay will be played from the German perspective, it will take place in the later stages of the Battle of Kurks, on the 12th of August 1943, after the initial German offensive and four weeks and three days into the Soviet counter-offensive. Every participant of the roleplay will be in the same platoon, the size of which is hard to determine this point in the war, reserves were running low and the heavy fighting was costly. Therefor it is logical that we would be between 60% or 70% of our former strength, if we would go between those two figures on 65% our platoon strength would be 21 men. Our platoon will start in Kharkov.
it should be noted that this roleplay is heavily focused on character development, aside from the fighting aspect. It is about the mindset of your character and how he develops or has been developing since the start of the war. You can be a veteran or a new recruit, pressed into service whether you are fit for combat or not. I aim to play this out to the end of the war, our fate shall be kept a secret though. We could all find our final resting place in the middle of nowhere, burried deep in the snow, decayed and forgotten. But while we're still standing, think of writing letters to your loved ones, having emotional breakdowns, doubting the regime or finding renewed confidence in the regime to cope with the situation. I will maintain the rank of Oberleutnant and lead our platoon as Wilhelm Schröder. I am not quite sure how to distribute ranks yet but any rank of your soldier should be below Oberleutnant, if you'd wish to have a leading role of sorts then I will decide by your character application whether or not you are suitable for that position.
Character sheet:
Name: (Our platoon would be purely German, so make sure you use a German name.)
Age: (Obviously you can not be under 18, but having just turned 18 was enough to be drafted at this period in time so it is acceptable.)
Appearance: (Description or an image works fine.)
Personality: (Tell us how you have developed, has you character ever shot a jew or civilians? Do you still believe in a thousand year reich or are you starting to see the cracks?)
Rank: (Make sure to keep it under Oberleutnant.)
Background: (Can be as long as you like, just include your life before the war and how you ended up where you are now.)
Equipment: (Keep it realistic for this time in the war, having certain pieces of Russian equipment is possible though.)
Other information: (Drafting standards were getting lower and lower for the Wehrmacht, do you have an illness or any allergies? Do you have any fears or certain skills that may come in handy?)