WWII Most Interesting Characters

Wendigo

Banned
WWII had some interesting folks. There was Jack Churchill, Digby Tatham-Warter (one of the most English men ever), de Wiart, and Audie Murphy (pretty much Steve Rogers, but Texan). I'm sure there's others though, and interested to hear about them.

Oskar Dirlewanger: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oskar_Dirlewanger
Veteran of WW1, the Freikorps, Spanish Civil War and WW2, wounded a dozen times.

From Wiki:

He is invariably described as an extremely cruel character by historians and researchers, including as "a psychopathic killer and child molester" by Steven Zaloga,[1] as "violently sadistic" by Richard Rhodes,[2] as "an expert in extermination and a devotee of sadism and necrophilia" by J. Bowyer Bell,[3] and as "a sadist and necrophiliac" by Bryan Mark Rigg.[4] World War II historian Chris Bishop called him the "most evil man in the SS."[5] According to Timothy Snyder, "in all the theaters of the Second World War, few could compete in cruelty with Oskar Dirlewanger."[6]

He led a large penal unit made up of criminals, psychopaths, thugs, rapists, lunatics and all around scumbags that led anti partisan operations across Belorussia from 1942-1944 killing an estimated 30,000 people and destroying countless villages. Then once the Warsaw Uprising started in August 1944 him and his unit were responsible for the worst excesses and atrocities that took place, resulting in over 150,000 Poles being raped, tortured and killed in a rampage that gave Nanking a run for its money.

He was so mind boggingly vicious that even other Nazis wanted him to quit but unfortunately he had protection from Himmler who saw him as an example of how "subhumanity" should be battled.

And of course for his conduct during the Uprising he was awarded the most prestigious military decoration by Adolf Hitler himself.
 
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WILDGEESE

Gone Fishin'
Always admired Johnny Walker RN (not the alcoholic beverage). Wrote the rule book for ASW and engaging submarines.
 
Juan Pujol Garcia, definitely, one of the most successful double agents in history. He did a great job of lying to the Germans, and even was responsible for convincing them D-Day would fall on Calais, not Normandy. He then proceeded to manage to keep himself on the Abwehr's payroll.

Also, Simo Hahya. Cliche, but true.
 
James "Jumpin' Jim" Gavin was a pretty interesting guy if you ask me.

Oskar Dirlewanger

From Finland we have Lt.Col. Nikke Pärmi (1887-1957), a guy convicted of knifing a man in 1906 and who didn't pass his Volksschule exam until the age of 25. The unit he commanded was composed of former convicts and political dissidents (many of the latter deserted, so later it was only convicts), yet he still commanded them so well that Mannerheim himself acknowledged their successes in a telegraph.

A random quote from Pärmi said:
[Convicted] of a killing? Professionals, that's exactly what the battalion needs.

Granted, his exploits are more farcical (did I mention his speech impediment yet BTW?) than batshit crazy, but anyhow.
 
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Jasper Maskelyne https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jasper_Maskelyne a stage magician who used his skills to fool the Germans and create gadgets Bond would be proud of.

Major William Martin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Mincemeat who did more for the war effort dead then alive.

Nancy Wake A.K.A. The White Mouse https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Wake one of the most decorated service women in the war.

Mariya Vasilyevna Oktyabrskaya https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariya_Oktyabrskaya who bought her own tank to get revenge when her husband was killed.
 
Well we have had Jack and Johnny so the Soldier and Sailor are covered - but what about the Best Pilot ever to grace the skies - Eric Brown - shot down several Condors and was one of the few survivors from the sinking of HMS Audacity and went on become the most experienced pilot by nearly any yardstick you want to use.

Another soldier who had an interesting war/life is 'Sten gun enthusiast, Mossad agent and Irish Pig farmer' Otto Skorzeny ;)
 
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