"Requesting a Serious Answer for a Silly Question" Topic

Let's say that during WWII the Allies uncovered information that Nazi occult experiments were actually on the verge of animating the undead and had actionable intelligence on the performance of such an experiment deep within German territory. Assuming the Allies had no supernatural or superheroic agents upon which to call (i.e. no combustible androids or men infused with a "super soldier" serum) then who would they send to investigate and disrupt such an experiment? In other words what real world outfit would they have sent to combat an other-worldly threat? A couple of professors with expertise in the occult escorted by a unit of British commandos? A Catholic demonologist and company of U.S. Rangers? Seriously…who would the Allies have sent?

Well since they already had the Ark of the Covenant. Indiana Jones, The Ark, A squad of Rangers, and some really hot chick in a highly modified uniform that keeps getting wet…Damn I want to see that movie

The Superfortress wasn't called Super for nothing.

I'd think they'd send spies first…undercover operatives.

Seriously, it would have been a Roman Catholic contingent, probably organized out of Georgetown University by the Jesuits.

The same team as was used against those real out of this world threats, the V2 was pure Sci Fi till the germans built it, the allies responded by pounding Peenumede flat with the RAF and USAAF.

Robert

SOE to check it out, then 617 squadron to cancel their findings, I suspect….

There is a very shadowy suggestion that the British Government had a unit of witches that were used to turn back Hitler's invasion. No solid proof of this seems to exist, possibly because of the embarrassment it would cause the Crown, but rumors continue. IF this unit existed you would expect that at least one or two of the more fit ones would be part of a Commando unit sent to combat just such a threat.

You might also consider that OSS would have a hand in it, perhaps aided by partisans.

I think they'd have laid on a thousand-bomber raid and blown the place to kingdom come.

Or, if cooler heads prevailed, they would have made a precision strike by Mosquitoes, a la Operation Jericho.

Major Steve Trevor and Wonder Woman??

It would definitely have been spies who would have done the investigation, the allied agents who were already in place closest to the supernatural project would have been ordered to get as close as possible and report all they could see.

If the site was deep in German territory I doubt a commando raid could succeed, Security would surely be immense, and even if a raid was successful, retrieving the commandoes and their findings would be very hard. There are limits to what commandoes can do, infiltrating a top security installation is something very different from raiding a radar site on the French coast. Though for something like this, a suicide mission with large number of paratroopprs, intended to destroy the site as much as possible would be considered, I guess.

The site would probably be mostly underground bunkers, and bombing those with WWII bombers won't accomplish much.

There is a very shadowy suggestion that the British Government had a unit of witches that were used to turn back Hitler's invasion. No solid proof of this seems to exist, possibly because of the embarrassment it would cause the Crown, but rumors continue.

Probably inspired by "Bedknob and Broomstick" by Mary (aka Andre) Norton.

MI-5 Occult Bureau

Occult specialists of the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) could have been collaborating on the experiment.
Others within the RCC would have said doing so is heretical.
Resulting in a schism more bloody that WWII was already.

The only folks really set up as an organization to deal with the thread starting experiment would have been sections of the RCC and maybe a few university departments around the civilized world.

If re-animation did not use the powers of the Otherside, then those manipulating such powers in the Third World might have been able to keep their areas free of the re-animated until the living controllers of the re-animated with their soldiers came in and killed them.

Simply put, if Germany had been able to do what you asked, the world would have been theirs by 1944 probably at latest

what was the name … fat boy … problem solved

Or maybe Hellboy…..

philliphall –

I DID read a book a long while back about that very thing – it was non-fiction, handled beautifully, and revolved around the druidic and celtic mythos and subtle earth magic. Even included a representation of The Hunt as a ritual requiring performance to ensure the safety of the Isles.

Great book, by my recollection, I'll have to search about for it now…

I thought the spanish uInquisition were Domincans? the jesuits were too unreliable, fervant as they were..

The site would probably be mostly underground bunkers, and bombing those with WWII bombers won't accomplish much.

That's what Tallboys and Grand Slams were for….

You might explore the connections between Dion Fortune, Gerald Gardner, Aleister Crowley, Iam Fleming, and others (heck, even L. Ron Hubbard is in the mix); for example:

link

Katherine Kurtz expanded on the incident of the "horn of power" in her novel "Lammas Night", and has connections to the same characters in her "The Adept" series.

Allem

MI5 did employ an astrologer during the war to help them to try and predict how Hitler's plans might be effected by the Nazi astrologers, or something like that.
So my guess would be that the allies would use agents and amateur "experts" on the basis that even if they didn't believe the tales of undead they would want to know about it as the Nzais believed i the occult. (excuse the sweeping generalisation)

Enola Gay would have had a slighty different flight plan.

Seriously? Napalm sticks to zombies. From a gaming standpoint, however, bombing a top secret zombie lab is a lot like bombing a top secret rocket belt lab, or a top secret U-battleship yard. The most serious answer isn't always the best answer.

What if… an off-course glider carrying a platoon of Rangers discovers the lab more or less by accident. The surviving Rangers fall in with a band of locals (including the old parish priest) and maybe a few Russian deserters. They decide that they must deal with the threat at once, and so plan a surprise raid on the compound. That night, as the clouds break, they are reminded that it's the night of a full moon…

USAF makes a massive bomber run and it is followed up by a paratrooper drop. If that fails Germany gets nuked instead of Japan.

After refit and rest after Italy, the 1st Special Service Force (the Devil's Brigade) could be tasked for just such a dangerous job.

OSS agents to find out what was going on, then a bunch of Americans with big guns to blow 'em to bits.

Truly, you would probably wind up with a paradrop by Marine Raiders moved to the ETO or a Ranger or Para's operation. Black Ops hadn't really been thought of as a special unit, and those that had been formed, such as the 1SSF didn't really have a mission beyond that normally carried out by regular "elite" troops. They just tended to get the crappier end of the stick than the regulars, being expected to do the nigh impossible since they had better training. Any raid would probably be carried out by the types that did the Telemark raid. Current Black Ops are still the Pentagon's redheaded step child and ad-hoc groups for special missions during WWII is much more likely.

Probably inspired by "Bedknob and Broomstick" by Mary (aka Andre) Norton.

Different writers.

Mary Norton was British, and also wrote The Borrowers series, but not a lot else.

Andre (Mary Alice) Norton was American, and had a book list (mostly SF&F, with some historical fiction) to her credit longer than your arm.

The unit that was sent to deal with the Incident at Innsmouth, MA. Check out 'Delta Green' supplement for Call of Cthulhu.

Thistledo, the papers pertaining to that gentleman have recently been declassified. Turns out, he failed to parallel the Nazi astrologers results ( not surprisingly, but would have been useful if he had), and made himself a nuisance to the governemnt by bragging about his position in public and using his brevet captaincy as a genuine one.

The most annoying thing to his handlers was, despite his cover that his London apartment was paid for by a wealthy female patron and lover was his flamboyant and openly homosexual lifestyle; Bit of a giveaway there. . .

You have to have a beginning before the end (scenario). Like what is this information and where does it come from? Is there any compelling evidence and what does it consist of? Worse, who is analyzing it?
If it is solid and you have a location, my take it would be Grand Slams across the board and use the data collection assets that you have to asses the results.
A deep penetration of enemy territory would probably not been contemplated. All Major (known) threats like V-1,V-2 and U-Boat pens were thought to be long range air targets. Outside of a certain business in Norway everything seems to have been relegated to bomber command or the Eight AF.
Of course that makes for a rotten movie of Pulp scenario.
…Now if during,say, the battle of the bulge, Kamphgruppe Pieper was preceeded with Romeroesque zombies under intelligent control? …then the options begin to grow.
Just a thought…..