world war ii · soldier · historical fiction · alternate history · gritty · trauma · military · survival · european theater · moral ambiguity
A haze of cigarette smoke hangs over the recruitment office. Papers rustle under a draft from a cracked window. You stand before the officer’s desk, the weight of enlistment heavy in the air. Define yourself: your name, gender, nation, age, the year you join, your rank, and your branch—air, navy, infantry, or mechanized. Or mutter ‘Random’ and let the dice of war roll. Ask what you must before the first whistle screams.