Götterdämmerung/Flak Crew

"Flak guns are ready."

- Flak Crew

The Flak Crew is the Anti-air support crew of the Allies Soviet Union. This unit is planned to be voiced by.

Tactical analysis

 * I shot an arrow into the air: Firing proximity-fused autocannon rounds straight up into the air like the flak cannons of old, Flak Crews provide vital anti-air protection for the Union Corp in battle.
 * Icy Skies: Once set up the Flak crews are able to fire larger "frostbite" autocannon rounds. Which not only deals more damage and hits a larger area but also coats the surrounding air in a layer of frost, causing aircraft flying through to slow down as the cold interferes with their engines.
 * Silver linings war tactics: Knowing that enemy aircraft aren't able to target them as effectively, soldiers nearby move more swiftly since they aren't busy looking for cover as they move.
 * What goes up: The Flak Crews are sadly not able to do much against ground targets. They also have a noticeable setup time, meaning a commander needs to know where they'll going well in advance.

Background
"Only a prisoner to debt."

- Unofficial Flak Crew motto.

Though the exact figure is known only to the Soviet government, it is known that the Soviet Union has a great many incarcerated. From petty criminals and lazy workers who fail to meet their quotas to protesters who disagree with the Party government and captured Axis soldiers and citizens, countless people from all walks of life (including those in the upper echelons of the Party) have all been tried by the Soviet judicial system and found guilty. While some people have committed crimes severe enough to warrant the death penalty, most are fortunate enough to get off with a prison sentence.

Of course, even when one is in prison, they are still expected to contribute to the greater good of the Union. Thus, convicts are employed as forced labour, to perform tasks such as constructing a new factory, operating Smelters, or mining ores from the ground. Whatever the work, it is almost always highly unpleasant in nature, and conditions are almost always extremely poor or even life-threatening. Though nowhere near the level of the Axis, there are still a shockingly high proportion (at least by Allied standards) of severe injuries and deaths (whether from overexertion or suicide).

There is a way out, though, for those who find themselves serving time in a Soviet labour camp, or even those who have been sentenced to capital punishment, and this alternative comes in the form of military service in one of the Soviet Union's convict battalions. The terms: one to three months of service, with a commutation of sentence should one accomplish extremely heroic deeds in combat or suffer an injury while fighting. Anyone who is physically fit can sign up, and indeed many do.

The conditions are no better than in the labour camps, of course, and are arguably even worse. Convict battalions are assigned the most unpleasant, unwanted, and dangerous tasks in the entire Soviet military; during the first war against the new Axis, their duties included mine-clearing (by running through the minefield), reconnaissance by fire (into heavily defended enemy territory), serving as (sacrificial) rearguards, and even acting as decoys. Fortunately, conditions are better now, but even then they are still highly unpleasant.

For example, take Flak Crews, who have to carry heavy flak cannons and a "Perun" emplacement, which is basically a scaled-up grenade launcher with a proximity-fuse airburst shell. Though nowhere near as bad as having to run through a minefield or act as a decoy for the enemy, being a Flak Crew is still a highly undesirable job. The Flak Cannon is a monstrously heavy weapon, weighing close to 50 kilograms on its own, and the Perun weights thrice as much. The tremendous weight of the cannon makes carrying it a backbreaking task, and the design makes it impossible to carry ergonomically. Worse still, the recoil of the weapon can dislocate one's shoulder (not having a dislocated shoulder is considered extremely unusual for a Flak trooper). Because of this, most Flak Crews prefer to set up their emplacement, where they won't have the wheel the Perun and can brace their flak cannon against the ground.

Even so, though the conditions are horrific and the chance of death on the battlefield is great, many people still volunteer for military service in a convict battalion; this goes to show just how many people are willing to do anything, to take any route, any course of action, that offers them a way out of the Soviet penal system.

Quotes
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed fandom-table" !Voiced by

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