open/close all folders
SOE and Allies
Long Range Desert Group
- Big Damn Heroes: They save Karl from a German ambush late in the Siwa Oasis level, helping to suppress and kill at least two enemy snipers pinning Karl down.
- Crossing the Desert: They are masters of this, being able to carry more than enough supplies with their stripped down motor vehicles and are expert navigators in the Western Desert.
- Dressing as the Enemy: Late in the Pont du Fahs Airfield mission, some of them can be seen disguising themselves as Afrika Korps soldiers, even providing Karl an infiltration method to the Ratte Factory via a captured Opel Blitz truck.
- Men of Sherwood: Compared to the British soldiers from the Tobruk mission, the LRDG prove themselves to be competent allies to both Fairburne and Brauer, saving the former's life during an ambush late in the Siwa Oasis level, and then providing much-needed fire support during the Pont du Fahs Airfield mission, destroying German aircraft and vital supplies belonging to Vahlen's forces.
- More Dakka: Their vehicles are strapped with Vickers machine guns, allowing them to tear shreds into German aircraft, men, and supplies during the Pont du Fahs Airfield mission. Brauer also ends up using one such machine gun to kill an enemy sniper pinning down Karl during the Siwa Oasis mission.
- Vehicular Turnabout: Late in the Pont du Fahs Airfield mission, some of their members can be seen capturing and using German Opel Blitz Trucks as part of an infiltration mission.
- Weaponized Car: They use specialized military transports armed with Vickers machine guns to get around the vast Western Desert.
Brauer
- Big Damn Heroes: Saves Karl from a German ambush during the latter's infiltration of the Siwa Oasis.
- Cold-Blooded Torture: He was being tortured for information by Vahlen's men when Karl breaks him out.
- Dropped a Bridge on Him: He's unceremoniously killed when a Tiger I tank obliterates the observation post he was hiding in.
- Hostage MacGuffin: For the first half of the game. The Germans and Italians are holding him hostage after finding out about his role as The Mole, and Karl needs to rescue him in order to get more intelligence relating to Project Seuche, as he is the person on the Allied side with the most knowledge about it.
- Killed Mid-Sentence: Before he can finish his conversation with Karl during the Kasserine Pass level, a Tiger I tank appears and blasts him into oblivion.
- Last-Name Basis: He's always referred to with his last name.
- Not Enough to Bury: His body is blown to bits by an 88mm round when he's killed.
- Oh, Crap!: The look on his face says this all when he sees a Tiger I about to fire on his position.
- Only Friend: To Karl during the North African campaign. He's the only person among the Allied Forces that Karl is seen interacting and on good terms with.
- The Mole: Served as the British SOE's eyes and ears within Vahlen's circle before his cover was blown and he was subsequently captured.
- Target Spotter: Briefly serves as one for Karl during the Kasserine Pass mission before being killed by a Tiger I tank.
- Weapon Tombstone: Karl marks the place where he was killed with a captured Gewehr 43 before leaving Kasserine.
Capt. Harry Hawker
Hawker during the Italian campaign in 1943
During the North African campaign in 1942
An SOE agent, and a close associate of Karl Fairburne who usually serves as his backup on certain missions.
- Alliterative Name: Subverted. His real name is actually Harry Pemberton, with "Hawker" being nothing more than an alias he uses.
- All There in the Manual: Intel collected during the Overwatch missions in 4 reveals that his full name is Harry Pemberton, with "Hawker" being a nickname.
- Ascended Extra: Downplayed in 4. In III, he only appears in co-op and multiplayer, with no role in the main story whatsoever. Come the next game, he has his own speaking lines and plays a major role in the two Overwatch missions as Karl's Target Spotter. Outside of these two missions, however, he is still absent from the main story.
- British Stuffiness: His dialogue shows him to be far more uptight, in contrast to Karl, who is shown to be rather friendly when not in combat.
- Old Soldier: Is mentioned to be far older than Karl, and is already a veteran of several battles even before Karl sees action in Tobruk.
- Perma-Stubble: By 4, he's shown to have a rather prominent stubble, in contrast to his depiction in 3 where he's clean-shaven.
- Satellite Character: To Karl in 4. His main role is simply to spot enemies and collect intel for his partner, who in turn is providing him with sniper cover.
- Target Spotter: His primary role in the Overwatch missions in 4, to spot any enemies for Karl.
Winston Churchill
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during most of WWII, he ends up becoming the target of an Assassination Attempt by a secret German Army unit.
- Historical Domain Character: The only Real Life individual seen in the game, aside from maybe Adolf Hitler.
- Living MacGuffin: The Germans, specifically the Schutzvollstrecker, want to ensure he's killed, in order to create a morale-boosting propaganda and strategic victory over the Allies.
- Secondary Character Title: Despite having his name on the "Save Churchill" campaign pack missions, he only makes appearances in cutscenes and during the ending of the final mission, after Karl finally kills Raubvogel.
Axis Forces
Generalfeldmarschall Franz Vahlen
- Ain't Too Proud to Beg: Begs for help from Karl when the latter blows up Project Seuche's Production Facility, despite earlier acting all high and mighty.
- Ambition Is Evil: He schemes to rise through the ranks of the Nazi hierarchy by first launching a coup against Erwin Rommel and taking control of the Afrika Korps. He then eventually plans on taking over the entire German High Command, and finally on usurping Hitler himself as Führer.
- Asshole Victim: Given the number of war crimes he's committed on Allied soldiers, poor treatment of his own subordinates, and treachery to even his own government and military, suffice to say he won't be missed by anyone.
- Awesome, but Impractical: Project Seuche, aka the Landkreuzer P.1000 Ratte, is ultimately this. Despite months of construction and vast amounts of men, time, and resources invested, the prototype still remains incomplete, even as the Allies are advancing swiftly into Tunisia and the Afrika Korps is already being pushed into a corner.
- Bad Boss: Intelligence collected by Karl reveals that he executed several of his men simply because they complained about the tight-work shifts they have. When Karl actually makes it to the Project Seuche's construction facility, Vahlen threatens his own men with cutting rations if they can't finish their work on schedule.
- Big Bad: Of III. Project Seuche is his brainchild, and Karl makes it a point to kill him as well once the Ratte is dealt with.
- Boom, Headshot!: Karl shoots Vahlen in the head with the General's own Luger to ensure that Project Seuche is never resurrected.
- Disproportionate Retribution: As revealed in enemy intelligence reports and from his own subordinates, Vahlen is known for executing his own men simply for questioning or making fun of him in his presence. During the final level, he also threatens to halve the rations of anyone not helping finish the Ratte components in time.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Karl kills him with his own Luger, using a 9mm bullet taken from Brauer's body to finish him off.
- Insane Admiral: He's one of the Afrika Korps highest-ranking Generals, and isn't the most mentally stable person. It goes to the point that several German and Italian subordinate officers attempt to report his questionable activities to Rommel and Berlin during the Siwa Oasis level.
- Non-Action Big Bad: When Karl encounters him, Vahlen makes no effort to fire back, instead having his soldiers go after Karl in his stead.
- Rogue Soldier: He's been secretly plotting to eventually overthrow Rommel and even Hitler once Axis victory in North Africa and the Middle East is ensured. Thanks to Karl and the Allies, however, these plans never come to fruition.
- The Unfought: He is never fought in person, with Karl simply putting a bullet into his head by the end of the campaign.
- Villainous Breakdown: He has a slow and drawn out one once the Afrika Korps are pushed back into Tunisia. By the time Karl meets him in person, he's attempting to rush production of the Ratte to the point that he forces his men to work around the clock just to finish it before the Allies arrive.
- Villains Want Mercy: Upon the destruction of the Ratte and the rest of his base, he asks Karl to free him and take him prisoner. Karl, having read on just what kind of scum he is, simply shoots him in the head for his trouble.
- Worthy Opponent: Considers Karl to be one after he ruins the Afrika Korps and his (Vahlen's) own operations, even giving a "Not So Different" Remark regarding their duties as soldiers who kill.
Oberstleutnant Raubvogel
- Arc Villain: Of the "Save Churchill" series of Downloadable Content missions. He's the leader of the Schutzvollstrecker unit, and comes up with the assassination plan on Winston Churchill as well as on Karl Fairburne himself.
- Armored Villains, Unarmored Heroes: He wears several sheets of thick steel plating on his face and torso, in contrast to Karl who only wears the standard issue British desert uniform. His armour isn't cosmetic either; any shot to his face or torso during his boss fight will not immediately kill him.
- Authority Equals Asskicking: The leader of the elite Schutzvollstrecker, and a very proficient sniper who leads from the front.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Several Afrika Korps and Schutzvollstrecker soldiers note that he is a very eccentric individual, such as wearing medieval style armor over his uniform (though see Reality Is Unrealistic for reasons). This doesn't make him any less dangerous as a soldier, as his plan almost succeeds and gives Karl a very difficult challenge.
- Cool Mask: Wears a unique iron faceplate that no other sniper in the game wears. Karl ends up keeping it as a trophy after killing him.
- The Faceless: His face is never shown, due to his only onscreen appearing depicting him with a faceplate on.
- Fatal Flaw: His desire to leave notes for Fairburne and challenge him to a Sniper Duel prove to be his eventual undoing, as Karl simply storms his hideout, destroys his unit's prototype weaponry, and wipes out his unit including himself one by one.
- Final Boss: He's the final threat fought chronologically during the events of both the "Save Churchill" missions, and by extension, the game.
- Flunky Boss: When Karl confronts him, he also brings in several of his best snipers in order to ensure Karl is dealt with.
- Made of Iron: Compared to most other snipers, Raubvogel can take much more punishment, which is justified due to wearing a faceplate and sheet metal over his torso.
- Reality Is Unrealistic: Armored protection was actually experimented with heavily, albeit mostly in World War One. While historically not good at stopping direct gunfire or artillery and so strictly limited in field operations, it was quite useful for avoiding shrapnel and other debris or glancing blows, and so often given to soldiers tasked with guarding fixed locations exposed to enemy artillery. Raubvogel taking it into the field would be very unusual but not entirely out of the realm of possibility.
- Sniper Duel: Challenges Karl to one during the finale of the "Save Churchill" DLC missions.
- Trap Master: Like Karl, he's an expert in laying traps, and plants several mines when the former confronts him.
- Villain Respect: In one of his journal entries, Lt. Colonel Raubvogel expresses no animosity toward Karl, despite the two of them being on opposing sides. He's also very cordial in every one of his notes to him, appearing to regard him with some degree of respect. He's still planning to assassinate Churchill however, and tries to kill Karl several times as well.
- Worthy Opponent: Certainly comes to see Karl Fairburne as this, which is why he often leaves notes for the Allied sniper to find, often asking his foe to confront him personally, rifle to rifle.
Schutzvollstrecker
- Anti-Infantry: The Teufelsfeuer rocket launcher developed and fielded by them is explicitly stated to be designed as an anti-infantry rocket launcher first and foremost, though in practice it proves to be highly effective against lightly armored vehicles as well.
- Assassination Attempt: Their missions in the "Save Churchill" Downloadable Content campaign are to assassinate British Prime Minister Winston Churchill as well as the "Desert Ghost" Lt. Karl Fairburne, both of which would be a huge morale victory for the Nazis should they succeed.
- Cold-Blooded Torture: They capture several American and British soldiers offscreen prior to the DLC campaign, bring them to their HQ in Morocco, and torture them for several days with the use of tools, starvation, and lots of dog kicking.
- Cold Sniper: They have several snipers in their ranks, who are fought during the second and final level of the "Save Churchill" missions, the latter alongside their leader Raubvogel.
- Color-Coded for Your Convenience: Unlike regular Afrika Korps soldiers, Schutzvollstrecker soldiers wear grey camouflage uniforms and have goggles on their helmets.
- Dark Is Evil: The standard Schutzvollstrecker uniforms come in a dark grays, and they're established to be a very brutal unit as a whole following the uncovering of their torture chambers.
- Elite Mooks: They're equal to the Elite infantry encountered in the main campaign in terms of health and competence, and are even deadlier than them due to having the Teufelsfeuer rocket launcher.
- Interservice Rivalry: Diary entries taken from their headquarters reveal that many of their members have disdain for the regular Afrika Korps and Italian Army soldiers.
- Stupid Jetpack Hitler: The Teufelsfeuer launcher, which is a further development of the already-lethal Panzerschreck. Compared to the weapon it was derived from, it can carry ten rockets as opposed to one, and can fire them off at a very fast rate thanks to using mechanisms derived from the MG 34 and MG 42. They plan on demonstrating several of these new prototype weapons during the Assassination Attempt on Winston Churchill.
- Super Prototype: They developed and use the Teufelsfeuer rocket launcher, a brand-new prototype weapon that fires the 88mm rockets of the Panzerschreck with the firing rate and mechanisms of the MG-42 machine-gun.
