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"Unknown Soldier: "Destroy The Devil's Broomstick"": Summer 1944, the Unknown Soldier is sent to prevent Nazi Germany from delivering a prototype jet fighter, the Me 163, to its ally Japan. As the Me 163 is being delivered by U-boat, its skipper is Commander Gunther, who is one of the few who ca

Star-Spangled War Stories #169 is an issue of the series Star-Spangled War Stories (Volume 1) with a cover date of April, 1973.

Synopsis for Unknown Soldier: "Destroy The Devil's Broomstick"

Summer 1944, the Unknown Soldier is sent to prevent Nazi Germany from delivering a prototype jet fighter, the Me 163, to its ally Japan. As the Me 163 is being delivered by U-boat, its skipper is Commander Gunther, who is one of the few who can direct the submarine to Japan, and is a recalcitrant with a dismissive attitude towards the Nazi regime.

The Unknown Soldier kills Japanese military liaison Colonel Nakadai and assumes his identity to board the U-boat. He shares quarters with Commander Wessel, Gunther's minder and devoted Nazi. The Soldier learns from Wessel that he has the Gestapo keeping Gunther's family under surveillance in Bremerhaven. The Soldier plants a time bomb in Wessel's locker. But the Soldier is prevented from leaving the sub as the dockyard is being bombed in an English bombing raid, forcing the submarine to leave port and trapping the Unknown Soldier on board.

The Unknown Soldier later impulsively breaks his disguise after witnessing Wessel giving orders to blow up a life raft full of American survivors from a sunken ship. The Germans quickly learn about the bomb and Gunther prevents Wessel from torturing the information out of the Soldier, as he correctly deduces the bomb's location. However, they are spotted by an American destroyer and Gunther orders the sub underwater. Wessel soon found the bomb, but the Soldier presses the general alarm button, alerting the destroyer to dropping its depth charges.

The U-boat is hit and taking on water. Gunther orders the crew to evacuate via torpedo tubes. Only Gunther, Wessel, and the Soldier are left. Gunther suddenly shoots Wessel, as the skipper has learned that his family were shot by Wessel's men after trying to run to a shelter during the air raid. Gunther allows the Soldier to escape while staying behind to launch him out to the surface.

Appearing in Unknown Soldier: "Destroy The Devil's Broomstick"

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Vehicles:

  • Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet
  • Boeing B-29 Superfortress


Synopsis for "Battle Album: The Little Big Horn"

On the morning of June 25, 1876, Colonel George Armstrong Custer, leading the 7th Cavalry, was given orders to wait for the columns of General Terry and Colonel Gibbon before heading out against the Cheyenne and Sioux. However, Custer, presumably seeking to recapture some of the fading glory that he had won for himself in the American Civil War, attacked alone.

Custer attempted to repeat the same tactics used against the Washita encampment eight years later, only to found out that this Indian village hosted a gathering of 10,000 Cheyenne and Sioux warriors led by Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and Gall. So, atop a small hill in southeastern Montana, on the morning of 1876, Custer's luck ran out.

Appearing in "Battle Album: The Little Big Horn"

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Synopsis for "Mine Eyes Have Seen..."


Appearing in "Mine Eyes Have Seen..."

Featured Characters:

  • John Howell

Supporting Characters:

  • Jim Markham

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  • Luftwaffe

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Trivia

  • "Destroy The Devil's Broomstick" is based on Nazi Germany and Japan's real attempts to ship plans and an example of the Me 163 to Japan. One of the two submarines carrying Me 163 parts did not arrive in Japan, forcing the Japanese to reverse-engineer their own design from information obtained in the Me 163 Erection & Maintenance manual obtained from Germany. Germany tried to send another Komet in U-864, but the submarine was sunk near Bergen by British submarine HMS Venturer in February 1945.


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