Air Conflicts: Secret Wars

Overview

Air Conflicts: Secret Wars is the third game in the 'Air Conflicts' series, and the second to be released on Windows. The game's campaign focusses on the smuggler Dorothy Derbec (known to her companions as “DeeDee”) as she takes part in a number of resistance efforts in World War II, and tries to discover the fate of her father, a pilot like her who vanished mysteriously in World War I.

Plot Overview

The game takes place in a number of locations involved in the Second World War, from 1941 to 1945, with occasional flashbacks to the Battle of Gallipoli and other moments from the First World War. The main character assists a number of resistance movements in countries such as Libya, Azerbaijan, Yugoslavia, Poland and France. Most events referenced or experienced in the game did occur (if perhaps not exactly the way the game depicts them) but are generally less well-known.

“Secret War”

The title of the game mainly refers to the campaign’s focus on the unofficial resistance forces during WWII as well as more official but still secret espionage; to a lesser extent it also refers to themes within the campaign about the significance of heroism and what it means to be honourable in war, as well as the mystery of Dorothy’s father’s disappearance.

Gameplay

The game includes two flight modes, Arcade and Simulation. Neither mode is particularly realistic – for example, planes will fly in a straight line if given enough power and have unlimited ammunition – instead, Arcade mode limits the range of motion and combines the planes various control surfaces. This makes the plane easier to fly, but certain manoeuvres or complex turns are impossible unless flying in Simulation mode.

All aircraft have infinite but limited ammunition. Machine guns will overheat if fired continuously for too long, and bombs and rockets reload slowly. In order to decrease difficulty of aiming in Arcade mode, machine guns will automatically target enemies close enough to the cross hair and an indicator displaying the potential bomb impact location can be permanently enabled. (Rockets will not auto-aim – at this point in history, they were not yet guided – but are perfectly accurate.) A temporary slow motion mode, referred to in-game as “Adrenaline”, is also available.

As well as player-controlled weaponry, larger planes also have one or more tail gunners which will fire automatically on enemy aircraft in their field of vision. The player can switch to these at any time for direct control, with the plane continuing on the same course until they switch back.

Some other flight features are also available, despite never being used in the campaign. The landing gear on most planes can be raised and lowered, and planes themselves can be landed; although landing is occasionally required in missions, it is achieved by flying through set waypoints at any speed.

Campaign Missions

The campaign has 49 missions in seven groups with six WWII missions and one flashback WWI mission. Each has a series of objectives that are only revealed as the mission progresses, sometimes allowing ‘twists’ and unexpected developments, but are almost entirely linear (failing an objective returns the player to the last checkpoint, usually just after completing the previous objective). Plot is told in dialog within missions, and static cutscenes with voiceovers between them.

Despite a variety of objectives and plot developments, most missions can be simplified to a small number of types:

• Destroy air targets
• Destroy (static or mobile) ground targets
• Protect friendly units
• Reach a location without being detected

Player-controlled planes can be damaged by enemy gunfire and collisions with foliage. Other planes, both friendly and hostile, cannot be directly collided with; on the other hand collisions with ground structures, rockets fired from enemy aircraft or, at the wrong angle or speed, the ground itself, will immediately destroy the aircraft. Player-fired rockets and bombs will destroy most enemies in one hit and when using the machine gun there is a small chance to score a “critical hit”, supposedly hitting a key piece of the aircraft such as the fuel tank or pilot, which destroy or disable the enemy plane immediately. Damage cannot be repaired during a mission and reloading from a checkpoint does not heal the player’s aircraft, but has only a visual effect of the aircraft and no impact on flight characteristics.

Flyable Aircraft

16 aircraft can be flown in the singleplayer campaign; these are gradually unlocked as the player earns “stars” from performance during missions. Aircraft are categorised by role, including fighters, bombers, jets and one cargo plane (DeeDee’s original aircraft as a smuggler before the war). With the exception of the Horten Ho 299 (incorrectly titled the Gotha 229 in-game) which only reached prototype stage, and the Bisnovat SK-1 which was a research aircraft, all airplanes represent their real roles and time periods. Planes are ranked from 1-5 on a variety of factors for comparison.

Campaigns generally allow the use of any unlocked plane, with the game recommending the most suitable role; occasional missions disallow certain aircraft, and WWI missions only allow the Sopwith Camel. Choosing an enemy plane in certain missions also provides a bonus to stealth (reducing suspicion).

Completing campaign missions occasionally rewards the players with upgrade points, which can be used in four categories:

• Agility: Increases turning speed for all aircraft
• Luck: Increases the likelihood of critical hits
• Leadership: Increases the skill of friendly AI planes
• Endurance: Increases plane health

Other Game modes

As well as the campaign missions, the game includes a singleplayer “dogfight” mode, its variant of deathmatch. It includes standard features such as time or kill limits, and allows playing on all the maps from the campaign. Multiplayer includes deathmatch, team deathmatch, capture the flag, and destroy & protect modes, and can be played on local networks or the internet (although the master server is now offline).

Available Multiplayer Maps

• France
• Constantinople
• Tobruk
• Egyptian Coast
• Turkish Trenches
• Vercors Plateau
• Railway Yards
• Baku
• Surakhany
• Mount Elbrus
• Cape Hellas
• Neretva
• Sutjetska
• Korcula
• Dukla
• Banska Bystrica
• Radon
• Belgrade
• NE Slovakia
• Sieczychy
• Peenemunde
• Sahara Desert
• Berlin
• Cairo

Detailed Campaign Overview

Siege of Tobruk (Tobruk, Libya, May to December 1941)

Destination Tobruk

DeeDee arrives at Tobruk, already under siege, with a delivery of "twelve cases of single malt". The Group Leader, McIntyre (who claims to have been a friend of her father), has offered substantial monetary rewards for assisting in the war, and while DeeDee is initially reluctant she is forced to help prevent an attack on her planned landing zone by leading the Nazis into an ambush. Settling in at Tobruk, DeeDee and Tommy recruit an alcoholic Australian mechanic named Clive Greer, happy to be paid in whiskey, to work with them on the ground.

Smuggle Motor Parts

As the siege continues, DeeDee is recruited to collect useful machine parts from a local smuggler, Ahmed - some that she needs, but many more that can be sold to the local garrison. This is made more difficult by the necessity to keep the smuggling network secure and DeeDee's weak cargo plane, meaning she must remain undetected by the Luftwaffe patrols.

Stop Nazi Spy

Rumours that Rommel has spies in the area have begun to spread and are damaging morale, and DeeDee is sent out with a radio-tracking device to locate them. A hint from Tommy leads her to a nearby oasis where she finds several planes taking off. DeeDee manages to prevent them escaping, but they turn out to be distractions from several vehicles attempting to leave which she eventually manages to destroy.

Smuggle Whisky

As Rommel continues to advance across the desert, Ahmed is trying to empty his stocks from the more dangerous locations while he still can. DeeDee meets him to collect a large load of whiskey, but just as she is leaving a ground patrol approaches. Ahmed, unable to escape, asks for her help, and thanks to DeeDee survives to smuggle another day.

Cripple Oil Reserves

McIntyre recruits DeeDee to help destroy the local Axis fuel depots, in the hope that a 'specialist' will be more successful (and to avoid losing his pilots). With bombers on the way, DeeDee is sent in ahead with Tommy as her wingman to take out the anti-air defences. At the last minute a convoy is spotted with key personnel attempting to escape, and with the bombers still busy, McIntyre regretfully tasks DeeDee with their destruction.

Rescue Clive

Clive has been trying to make money on the side by dealing with local Senussi smugglers but, much better in a garage than the black market, ends up in trouble and captured. He is able to send out a signal, and DeeDee traces it back to a local Nazi listening post; after taking out its main defences she lands and quickly extracts Greer (and his "new mate, Dave"). With Tobruk no longer safe, Ahmed helps relocate the group to nearby Azerbaijan, where Clive still has useful contacts.

Flashback: Naval Barrage of Constantinople

After some pushing from DeeDee, Tommy shares a tale of the Great War, when he flew with her father Lieutenant Guillaume Derbec. Tommy talks about directing the artillery on Turkish trenches in preparation for the ANZAC (Australia and New Zealand) soldiers to land in the battle of Gallipoli in 1916; he also suggests that while Guillaume was an "invincible" decorated ace with a dozen kills, he never enjoyed the killing. After a short interjection from Clive about the ANZACs, Tommy tells how on this mission Guillaume was shot down once again into the sea, calling out his catchphrase: "Tally-ho! Into the drink again!" (This mission is played from the perspective of Tommy.)

Fall Blau (Baku, Azerbaijan, March to September 1942)

Criminal Activity

DeeDee attempts to gain the trust of one of Clive's contacts - Morozov, who she sees a little more than a bully and a thug, but at least honest about his lack of morals - initially by collecting and delivering documents along a highly-patrolled area without being discovered. The mission is easy, and DeeDee wonders if she passed or failed another test by not looking at the documents.

Target: Factory

Morozov offers a small fortune for the destruction of a Russian-controlled military factory at a specific time. DeeDee, miserable at using her skills for violence and at "living while everyone else dies" and still pretending to remain neutral, accepts in the hope she can use the money to escape the war. Although the bombing itself goes well, there is radio interference from a woman who calls herself "Night Owl".

Getting Paid

DeeDee travels to Morozov's location near Mount Elbrus to collect her pay, following a difficult winding route to avoid detection. Transmissions from Night Owl are received again, and DeeDee is able to make out the words "Black Wing", "Morozov" and "German infiltrators". Already suspicious, she is prepared when Morozov springs an ambush - while she escapes with her life, there's no money, and Morozov lives as well. Tommy suggests trying to contact Night Owl directly.

Aerial Patrol

DeeDee discovers that the factory was civilian, not military. Tommy believes that Morozov must still be nearby, and DeeDee searches for signs of criminal activity in the hope she can track him down. Instead, she finds a dozen German boats, miles from the frontline. Realising they're only lightly armed she manages to sink them, but is set upon by Russian fighters and ends up escaping empty-handed again.

Experimental Plane

Tommy manages to contact Night Owl, who reveals the factory had been used to design a prototype Russian fighter, Black Wing, which is now supposedly being smuggled to the Nazis. DeeDee agrees to help Night Owl "borrow" it. After finding and following it, she manages to cripple the plane and force it into an emergency landing near a friendly transport, and then defend the transport until they can escape. Despite the assistance, Night Owl expresses her disappointment in DeeDee for the previous atrocities she's taken part in, but explains Morozov's actions - a Russian official at the factory was bribed to move the plane from the factory, and DeeDee was used to destroy the evidence (and the official), leaving Morozov free to sell the supposedly-destroyed plane to the Nazis for a huge profit.

Kill Morozov

DeeDee's only aim now is to eliminate Morozov and attempt to redeem herself. Wanted by both Russians and Morozov's Nazi escort, she leads a group of the former to the latter as a distraction. DeeDee, now codenamed "Black Wing" by Night Owl, spots Morozov as he tries to escape the chaos and easily manages to defeat and kill him, but murdering the man who made her a murderer does little to make her happier. With Azerbaijan no longer safe, Night Owl suggests moving to Yugoslavia and the resistance movement there.

Flashback: ANZAC Landings

Tommy tells DeeDee about defending the ANZAC landing forces from Ottoman Empire airplanes - and the first time he was downed. Guillaume later met him in hospital, sneaking in a cigar, a hipflask, and a crumpled photo of a baby girl with an address on the back. Tommy wonders aloud how many others were given a similar photo. (This mission is played as Tommy.)

Operation Black (Mostar, Yugoslavia, January to June 1943)

Defend Bridge

After arriving in Neretva, Yugoslavia, DeeDee tries to get in touch with the local resistance. With the region already under Axis attack, she decides the best method is to show her allegiance by fighting off aerial forces planning to destroy the Neretva Bridge. Thanks to her success, Tommy manages to contact the Chetniks, one of the two local partisan forces. DeeDee hopes her work with the resistance can redeem her previous mistakes.

Reclaim Installation

DeeDee continues to assist the Chetnik fighters, this time in a direct attack on a German base - first by destroying enemy AA to protect herself, then clearing a path for the resistance forces. The Chetniks are threatened by several hidden enemy tanks, but DeeDee manages to locate and destroy them in time. The mission then takes a disastrous turn - the Chetniks begin to massacre the local Croatian civilians (their enemies long before the Nazis arrived) and DeeDee is forced to 'dissuade' them without actually killing her own allies. Tommy plans to contact the other partisan force, the People's Liberation Army, and DeeDee decides to ask Night Owl for advice.

Contact

Having made contact with the PLA forces thanks to Night Owl, DeeDee lands at their camp and collects munitions supplies to deliver to fighters further afield. She manages to drop off the weapons (which parachute to the ground), but is informed of a Nazi raid on the base camp, and that Clive is trying to help defend it. She manages to return in time and save both the base and her mechanic.

Deception

Yugoslavia is overrun by the Nazis, and the PLA are retreating. In order to gain more time, Marshall Tito (leader of the PLA) has ordered the Neretva Bridge destroyed so that the Germans will mobilise at another crossing point to the north, with the PLA repairing the bridge and escaping before the ruse is discovered. DeeDee assists by defending the area from aerial reconnaissance, allowing one to get away with the information the bridge was destroyed, and then is forced to shoot down the slower bombers sent to destroy the bridge (who could otherwise realise the trickery).

Collect Officer

The British government, courtesy of McIntyre, sends an officer from the Special Operations Executive into the region, and DeeDee is tasked to pick him up and take him to observe the PLA command. The officer, Captain Edwards, is rescued just before the camp is overtaken, and between flirting with DeeDee discusses how England is considering supporting the PLA instead of the Chetniks.

Massacre

The Nazis launch a massive offensive against the Yugoslavian resistance, with German aircraft attacking an outpost in Sutjeska. DeeDee tries to lend support wherever she can, defending first the outpost, then a hospital and nearby settlement, but the situation is unwinnable and she collects Edwards and escapes, leaving thousands of wounded soldiers to be captured or killed on the ground. Later, McIntyre returns to evacuate Edwards, and DeeDee and the others head to Poland.

Flashback: First Battle of Krithia

Later, McIntyre tells DeeDee of his old squadron, of which her father was a member, during a mission to attack Cape Helles. (This mission is played as McIntyre.)

Operation Belt (Suwalki, Poland, August 1943 to February 1944)

Bomber Support

The RAF mounts an offensive, "Operation Hydra", on a Nazi rocket testing facility at Peenemunde (accents?), and DeeDee is among those escorting the bombers. AA defences and barrage balloons are destroyed before the bombers arrive, with several waves of Luftwaffe fighters posing another threat. With the bombers having expended their ammunition, McIntyre spots an unusual experimental aircraft attempting to take off from a nearby airfield, and DeeDee is sent to bring it down. Tommy is happy to be flying with the RAF again and acts as though the war is once again a grand adventure, but DeeDee remains numb as she reflects on the war she has seen.

Transport Weapons

A new location brings a new resistance force, Polish Home Army (the "Armia Krajowa"). DeeDee tries to earn their trust by flying to a secret munitions factory and bringing a consignment of arms back. On arrival, with Tommy having already landed, they realise Nazi forces are already present - at first believing it to be a trap, DeeDee realises instead the enemy has only found the factory by chance, and manages to eliminate several escaping vehicles to keep the factory's presence a secret.

Sieczychy Patrol

The Armia Krajowa send DeeDee to locate rumoured German forces across the border and gauge their numbers. Thanks to her skills she manages to remain undetected. With no word from Night Owl for some time, she fears the worst about her distant companion.

Bombing Assessment

DeeDee is sent to determine the success of Operation Hydra - the bombings should have practically eliminated the Germans, but sightings have continued. Though at first all seems silent, it is quickly revealed that the bombings had almost no effect, and DeeDee is shot down, barely managing to land with a crippled engine, but safe. It is only later she realises she crashed on Christmas Day, as there is no celebration in the Armia Krajowa camp.

Evacuate Factory

Using their deception at Peenemunde to prepare, German bombers are on the way to the AK's munitions factory, and DeeDee helps defend from the Nazi forces while the resistance evacuates (assisted by Clive). Night Owl contacts DeeDee to alert her of a new Nazi weapon - a huge cannon mounted on a train - which she manages to quickly stop. With the evacuation complete DeeDee lands to collect Clive and then defends the convoy as the ground forces escape.

Operation Belt

The Polish forces make a last ditch effort to attack Nazi border posts in Sieczychy, with DeeDee to fly ahead and scout the enemy forces and then provide air support. Despite being greatly outnumbered on the ground, with RAF support - including one Archie Lincoln, another who once flew with her father - a small victory is gained against the Nazis and the battle ends in success, but DeeDee knows it will only be temporary. Although the Armia Krajowa fights on, Night Owl informs DeeDee it is time to move on; the success and her near-fatal crash have finally raised her spirits.

Flashback: Turkish Attack

Archie Lincoln tells DeeDee about another mission from the Great War, one where he "earned his limp" defending an ANZAC position. He mentions that unlike McIntyre, her father Guillaume often tried to force enemy pilots down instead of shooting to kill. (This mission is played as Archie.)

Operation Overlord (Vercors Plateau, France, March to August 1944)

Bomb Railways

The French resistance, having learnt of a German troop train headed towards a region filled with hospitals of resistance sick and wounded, plan to stop the assault by colliding a train of their own with it. DeeDee is key to the plan, as she takes out several junction points and forces the Nazi transport onto the right route. Tommy himself begins to show signs of sickness.

Paratrooper Attack

The Nazis continue to attack the Vercors Plateau - this time from the air, with a massive paratrooper drop on their supply lines. DeeDee is unable to shoot down an entire squadron, let alone all the paratroopers they drop, but does her best. Tommy's sickness rapidly worsens and he barely manages to land the plane, and DeeDee then lands nearby to rescue him.

Steal Medical Supplies

The influenza epidemic continues to rage, crippling much of the resistance. DeeDee, desperate to save Tommy, helps attack nearby warehouses so those on the ground can take the medical supplies within. Eventually one raises an alarm, sending in bombers that threaten the resistance transports, but DeeDee fends them off.

Deliver Medical Supplies

DeeDee's plane is the fastest way to get the stolen supplies to those who need them, even if the Germans hadn't blockaded the roads and railways. With Tommy still recovering, Clive offers his help. His drunkenness almost results in disaster more than once, but eventually the supplies are dropped and distributed.

Defend The Republic

The Nazis have begun an all-out bombing raid on Vercors. Tommy remains in the hospital and Clive enters the pilot seat again, helping DeeDee to take down the vast number of bombers on their way. Tragically, just when the last of the bombers is defeated, Clive's plane is damaged and spirals out of control. DeeDee is unable to contact him on her radio and is helpless to prevent Clive being killed in the ensuing crash.

Medical Escort

The relentless Nazi assault has led to the camp's evacuation, DeeDee protecting the transports - especially the plane carrying Tommy, flown by Rene Deveraux (another of her father's squadron mates in the Great War). Tommy has (re)lapsed into alcoholism after Clive's death, and contact with Night Owl remains intermittent, but as the Vercors Plateau is abandoned, Night Owl returns and suggests DeeDee can be of most help in Slovakia.

Flashback: Battle of Gully Ravine

Rene Deveraux tells DeeDee another tale of her father, locating and destroying artillery positions at Gully Ravine, Gallipoli, and the last time Rene flew with him. Guillaume supposedly enjoyed destroying the artillery much more than enemy pilots. Rene informs DeeDee that Guillaume's plane was damaged and vanished into the smoke, and nobody had found him by the time they retreated from Gallipoli, but wonders if perhaps he was captured by the Ottomans. (This mission is played as Rene.)

Slovak National Uprising (Banská Bystrica, Slovakia, August to October 1944)

Partisan Deployment

DeeDee's first mission in Slovakia is to paradrop partisan fighters into key locations to aid the local guerrilla war, in the hope that the Slovak forces can hold out until the Soviets reach them. DeeDee feels fatigued to the bone, as the years of constant fighting and travelling take their toll; Tommy continues to drink, and his temper worsens.

Battle of Dukla Pass

The Russians begin to push into the Nazis occupying Slovakia, and the local resistance is trying to weaken the German lines from the rear; Dukla Pass must be taken for the Soviets to make headway. DeeDee takes part by destroying key ground targets to aid both advances. However the Russians retreat unexpectedly, leaving the Slovaks defenceless, and DeeDee barely manages to defend as they regroup and escape. Once again, Night Owl seems to have vanished, though she has always returned before.

Gun Train

The Russian reinforcement never materialised, the Luftwaffe attacks Banská Bystrica (the location of the resistance command) in retaliation for the last battle, and other Nazi forces seal off supply routes. In turn the resistance has converted a cargo train into a weapon - a mobile cannon platform - and need DeeDee to help clear a path by removing the blockades.

Army Movement

Still in desperate need of reinforcements, DeeDee helps to protect the 2nd Czechoslovakian brigade as they reach and join with the Slovak National Uprising forces. Rumours spread that the Russians intend to claim the land after the war.

Slovakian Retreat

Banská Bystrica, no longer defensible, is abandoned by the Slovakian forces who are falling back to the countryside. DeeDee tries to hold back the German attack long enough for the retreat to complete - blocking the railway to keep Nazi artillery out of range, by destroying Tiger tanks as they cross various sections of track. Night Owl returns once again and contacts DeeDee, but uses her real name and not the 'Black Wing' nickname. A short conversation confirms DeeDee's suspicions that Night Owl has been captured; she is never heard from again. Further, a resistance transport train is destroyed after the Nazis damage a railway bridge, and though the leaders escape from a nearby airfield many others are killed in the ensuing massacre.

Guerrilla Support

Key resistance outposts in the Slovak mountains remain threatened by Nazi patrols. DeeDee - almost in shock after having relied on Night Owl for so long - performs reconnaissance, eliminating enemy forces near the camps. Heading home, Tommy informs DeeDee of a package he received from McIntyre some days ago, who is forming a unit in Sutjeska and wants him to join - and that DeeDee was sent a letter in the package as well.

Flashback: Chemical Weapons

The letter, from Brian "Bull" Peterson, relates another story of the Great War in which he flew with Guillaume and McIntyre in Mesopotamia to quell a Kurdish rebellion. They then escorted a bomber squadron testing a new type of bomb known as white phosphorus. Bull felt Guillaume was about to go AWOL, but at the last moment the strike is called off. Bull went AWOL the following day instead; like the others, he does not know the ultimate fate of her father. DeeDee questions why McIntyre would send her this letter now, and reveal a different side of himself. (This mission is flown as Brian Peterson.)

Liberation (Belgrade, Serbia & Berlin, Germany, October 1944 to April 1945)

Return to Sutjeska

Back in Yugoslavia, DeeDee searches for the resistance controlled airstrip so she can once again establish contact with the PLA. Instead, she finds enemy fighters taking off. With Nazi reinforcements on the way Tommy and DeeDee split up, and Tommy contacts McIntyre for his RAF squadron. DeeDee manages to survive until they arrive and dispatch the enemy fighters. Later, DeeDee reflects on how vengeful Tommy has become since Clive's death, and how she has lost Clive, the 'old' Tommy and Night Owl, all people she once relied on.

Bomb Bridges

DeeDee, having 'joined' McIntyre's squadron, is sent with Tommy to cripple the Nazi transport network in Neretva, taking down several road bridges and then protecting saboteurs as they demolish some sturdier structures. Despite a grudging respect, DeeDee sees McIntyre only as a monster, but working with him offers the opportunity for the war to end sooner, an opportunity that can't be ignored.

Liberation of Belgrade

The RAF Balkans squadron leads an aerial attack on Belgrade, while long-awaited Soviet ground forces move in to capture it from the Nazis. After a joking comment from Tommy, McIntyre reveals his intent to move towards Berlin, either to witness the end of the war, or take part in it.

Transport SOE Officer

With the frontline rapidly moving towards Berlin, DeeDee is requested by Captain John Edwards of the Special Operations Executive to paradrop him into the city. DeeDee and Edwards, despite not having met for two years, quickly fall into flirting and banter (in spite of Tommy's irritation). Despite a number of patrols and searchlights, the drop goes flawlessly.

Escaping Generals

Although the war continues, senior Nazi officers in Berlin know the situation is unwinnable and attempt to flee the city. DeeDee and others are sent to eliminate those escaping by air, and a number more attempting to leave in vehicles. For the first time DeeDee faces enemy aircraft armed with rockets of their own (or at least willing to use them against her). While DeeDee is occupied, several more try to leave in heavily-armed bombers. DeeDee is too far to stop them, but with one bomber left Tommy's guns jam - he flies his plane into the final plane, dying in the ensuing crash. His last radio message is to DeeDee, telling her that McIntyre "knows the truth about your father!"

Flashback: The Secret War

McIntyre finally tells DeeDee the story of her father's last flight. He refers to a bomber escort mission much like that which Brian Peterson mentioned; DeeDee correctly guesses that the target was, as McIntyre puts it, "non-military" and claims that her father would never have taken part. McIntyre reluctantly confirms this also. Whether it fatherhood, growing anger at war, or some other factor, Guillaume not only disobeyed orders but attacked the other planes to prevent the bombing, and in response McIntyre "did what I had to" - kill him. DeeDee is furious, but McIntyre points out all the pilots she has shot down; "If you think you can emerge from battle without blood on your hands, you are as much a fool as he was…" DeeDee considers simply killing McIntyre where he stands, but believes neither Tommy or Guillaume would murder a man and instead leaves him. (This flight is flown as McIntyre, and unlike other flashbacks does not take place as the final story in the chapter. Refusing to shoot down Guillaume eventually fails the mission, once he destroys enough bombers.)

The Fall

DeeDee and McIntyre fly together - the Soviets are deep into the city, and they are to assist in the capture of the Reichstag building. DeeDee informs McIntyre she will fight with him but for her own reasons and not simply on his orders. Several waves of fighters eventually make way to Nazi jet aircraft, but even they are eventually defeated and the Reichstag is taken. With Nazi high command in tatters and the war effectively over, the last enemy planes approach and DeeDee finds herself with a choice - rescue McIntyre, help to kill him, or leave him to his own fate. (With the exception of who DeeDee then fights - if anyone - and some dialog, the actual choice has no effect.) With the war over, DeeDee and John Edwards eventually find each other once again and marry; although she often reflects on the many who did not survive she decides that "what seemed like horrific, senseless acts were small, painful steps along a necessary road". The game ends with a final toast - her father's catchphrase.