13-8-2016 PLAYING TO LOSE? REPRESENTATIONS OF THE WEHRMACHT IN MODERN WORLD WAR II VIDEO GAMES 2006-2011 Tom Rijnberg ERASMUS UNIVERSITY ROTTERDAM - ESHCC PLAYING TO LOSE? REPRESENTATIONS OF THE WEHRMACHT IN MODERN WORLD WAR II VIDEO GAMES Tom Rijnberg Master thesis Geschiedenis van Nederland in Mondiale Context Erasmus School of History, Culture, and Communication Erasmus University Rotterdam Date: 13-08-2016 Student number: 330652 Contact: [email protected] Reference style: Chicago Supervisors: prof. dr. Kees Ribbens & Pieter van den Heede MA Second reader: prof. dr. Maria Grever Cover artwork: Memorial to fallen German soldiers of World War I and World War II (year unknown) Mural on church, Feichten an der Alz, Bavaria, Germany Artist: unknown 1 PREFACE From an early age I have been fascinated by games. Whether it was the classic board game Stratego or the fantastical video game of Warcraft, the world of games have always provided me with ample entertainment and possibilities to develop myself. Besides books and films, video games also provided me with my first historical experiences. The flight simulator Red Baron sparked my interest in the history of flight and early twentieth century politics. Medieval Total War taught me about the existence of the different Islamic Caliphates in North- Africa and the many tribes and principalities of early Medieval Europe. Video games never taught me history inasmuch as they taught me to think about history. It was in part thanks to video games exposing me to different periods in time that I seriously began exploring history. They made me reflect on the rise and fall of great empires, on the importance of technological advances, and on the impact war can have on the individual. Therefor it was only fitting to end my academic studies by writing my Master’s thesis on history and video games. I would like to thank the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies for providing me with my research topic, and also for the opportunity to work as an intern for the Institute. I extend my thanks to my supervisors prof. dr. Kees Ribbens and Pieter van den Heede MA for their guidance and feedback. Their combined knowledge of World War II and historical game studies helped me to find my way around in this, for me hitherto unknown, field of study. I also wish to thank prof. dr. Maria Grever for taking the time to act as my second reader. My parents have always stimulated my desire to learn new things and my passion for history. I could not have come this far in life without their unwavering faith and support. I am indebted to my fellow students, in particular Nils, Jetske, Evy and Michelle, for providing a sounding board when I needed one. I would also like to thank my good friends Samir and Merel for their friendship, council and encouragement during all our years of study. A final special thanks to Karina for all of her love and moral support during these months of research and writing by being the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. Tom Rijnberg Rotterdam, August 2016. 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface ___________________________________________________________________ 2 Table of contents ___________________________________________________________ 3 Chapter 1: Introduction ______________________________________________________ 6 1.1 Historiography of the Wehrmacht_______________________________________________________ 9 1.1.1 Construction of the post-war narratives ______________________________________________ 10 1.1.2 Historical research from the 1960s onward ___________________________________________ 12 1.2.3 Wehrmacht & Waffen-SS on the Western Front ________________________________________ 13 1.2 Historical realism and myths in video games _____________________________________________ 14 1.3 Theoretical concepts ________________________________________________________________ 17 1.3.1 Concepts and definitions __________________________________________________________ 17 1.3.2 Narratives in alternate history and historical fiction _____________________________________ 18 1.3.3 Focalisation and perspectives ______________________________________________________ 20 1.3.4 Symbols _______________________________________________________________________ 22 1.4 Theoretical framework ______________________________________________________________ 22 1.5 Research methodology ______________________________________________________________ 24 Chapter 2: Quitting while you’re ahead: Red Orchestra II: Heroes of Stalingrad ________ 26 2.1 Game overview ____________________________________________________________________ 27 2.2 Historical background _______________________________________________________________ 28 2.3 Focalisation & perspectives ___________________________________________________________ 30 2.3.1 The events _____________________________________________________________________ 30 2.3.2 In-game narratives ______________________________________________________________ 31 2.3.2.1 Inner dialogue: war goals and conflict descriptions__________________________________ 31 2.3.2.2 Narration through mission briefings _____________________________________________ 32 2.3.2.3 Embedded historical narratives _________________________________________________ 33 2.3.3.3 Propaganda ________________________________________________________________ 38 2.4 Myths ____________________________________________________________________________ 40 2.4.1 The ‘victim’ event Stalingrad _______________________________________________________ 40 2.4.2 Denying responsibility for the war __________________________________________________ 41 2.4.3 Portraying battles isolated from whole-war context ____________________________________ 41 2.4.4 Portraying wartime biographical accounts ____________________________________________ 42 2.5 Final Victory _______________________________________________________________________ 42 Chapter III: Postponing the inevitable – Company of Heroes ________________________ 45 3.1 Game overview ____________________________________________________________________ 46 3.2 Historical background _______________________________________________________________ 46 3.2.1 Panzer Lehr ____________________________________________________________________ 47 3.2.1.1 Division or Kampfgruppe? _____________________________________________________ 47 3.2.2 Wehrmacht vs Waffen-SS? ________________________________________________________ 49 3.2.2.1 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler__________________________________ 49 3.2.2.2 2nd SS Panzer Corps __________________________________________________________ 50 3.2.2.3 SS Training and Replacement Battalion 16 ________________________________________ 50 3 3.2.3 The battlefields _________________________________________________________________ 51 3.2.3.1 Villers-Bocage_______________________________________________________________ 51 3.2.3.2 The Falaise Pocket: Stalingrad in Normandy _______________________________________ 51 3.2.3.4 Operation Market Garden _____________________________________________________ 52 3.3 Focalisation and perspectives _________________________________________________________ 52 3.3.1 The making of a tank legend: Villers-Bocage___________________________________________ 53 3.3.1.1 Unreliable narrator __________________________________________________________ 56 3.3.2 Falaise Pocket: “May God have mercy on those who ran” ________________________________ 58 3.3.3 Winning the battle but losing the war: Market-Garden __________________________________ 59 3.3.4 Symbols & propaganda ___________________________________________________________ 62 3.4 Myths ____________________________________________________________________________ 65 3.4.1 Whole-war context ______________________________________________________________ 65 3.4.2 Relativizing of war crimes _________________________________________________________ 65 3.4.3 The naïve but professional soldier __________________________________________________ 66 3.5 Final victory _______________________________________________________________________ 67 Chapter 4: Conclusion _______________________________________________________ 70 4.1 Narrative & focalisation ______________________________________________________________ 70 4.2 Historical myths & symbols ___________________________________________________________ 71 4.2.1 Red Orchestra II’s sterile Stalingrad__________________________________________________ 71 4.2.2 Company of Heroes’ clean Waffen-SS myth? __________________________________________ 72 4.3 Final victory _______________________________________________________________________ 73 4.3.1 Quitting while you are ahead: Red Orchestra’s Stalingrad ________________________________ 73 4.3.2 Postponing the inevitable: Company of Heroes ________________________________________ 74 Bibliography ______________________________________________________________ 76 Primary sources _______________________________________________________________________ 76 Secondary sources _____________________________________________________________________ 76 Appendix I: Transcript Red Orchestra II: Heroes of Stalingrad – German campaign ______ 83 [German campaign: introductory cutscene] _______________________________________________ 83 [Briefing mission 1: Spartanovka 31-08-1942] ______________________________________________ 83 [Briefing mission 2: Western Stalingrad 05-09-1942] ________________________________________ 83 [Chapter complete: Gefreiter Otto Lanz, 305th Panzer Jäger