Germans & Finns Take Centre Stage For Stoessi’s Heroes

December 7, 2019 by brennon

The Germans and Finns are the centre of attention for this month and what Stoessi's Heroes have been focusing on recently. We begin with the German Officer Hans von Luck.

After seeing action during World War II in Poland, France, the Soviet Union, and North Africa he was finally awarded a Knight's Cross Of The Iron Cross when fighting in Normandy. He put up fierce resistance during the Allied operation known as Goodwood. He was also the author of the book Panzer Commander.

Next up we're looking to German Unteroffizier Kaffeekanne.

You may know this fellow, played by Gert Fröbe in The Longest Day. He is one of the first Germans to see the massive Allied invasion fleet with his own eyes and is shown here mounted up atop his horse. You could use him as a commanding figure in your force or something of a mini objective where you're looking to make sure the coffee gets to the right place!

Next up we're seeing what German Sturmmann Otto Funk & Grenadier Klaus Schuh have to offer us from the history books.

This pair were part of a machine gun crew that fought on the Western Front as part of a special SS unit. They were both given the Iron Cross for knocking out a Canadian Churchill Tank with just their MG-42. They had nothing else at their disposal and so aimed their tracer rounds at the fuel tank on the side of the vehicle, taking it out. Funk was able to survive the way and only passed away in 2011 whilst Schuh was killed during the war in 1944.

Finally, to round things off we're looking at Finnish Army Captain, Lauri Törni.

Also known as Larry Thorne, this Finnish captain led an infantry company up against the Soviet Union during the Finish Winter and Continuation Wars. After World War II he then moved to the United States. This meant he fought under three flags during his lifetime, as a Finn, a German and also an American when he joined their Special Forces and battled in Vietnam.

A few more fascinating stories from World War II for you to go and research in more detail!

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